The Effectiveness of Mobile Phone–Based Microlearning Emotion-Focused Psychotherapy on Death Anxiety and Emotion Regulation among Patients Hospitalized in Cardiac Intensive Care Units

Inclusion criteria:

Ability to read and write at a basic level to comprehend the educational content Ability to understand and communicate in Persian Age between 40 and 70 years Access to a smartphone with an active internet connection and the ability to use it Not participating concurrently in any other similar educational programs Willingness to participate in the study and provide written informed consent Hospitalization in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CCU) Clinically stable condition allowing participation in brief educational activities

Exclusion criteria:

Withdrawal of consent or unwillingness to continue participation in the study at any point during the research. Experience of a highly stressful life event, either recently or during the study period, resulting in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (e.g., the loss of a close family member), as determined by self-report, family report, or available health records. Presence of moderate to severe dementia or a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score < 24 (or an equivalent validated cognitive assessment), as determined by self-report, family report, or available health records. Presence of delirium or any medical condition that precludes participation in mobile-based educational interventions. Visual or hearing impairment that prevents participation in the interactive educational activities. Clinical deterioration during the intervention requiring rehospitalization. Failure to view two consecutive educational sessions provided during the intervention.

Target sample size: 84