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Adoption of the Healthy Heart Kit by Alberta family physicians
Raphaël Bize1, Ronald C Plotnikoff, Shannon D Scott
1Centre for Health Promotion Studies, School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Insights
Physician agreement and confidence predict use of the Healthy Heart Kit (HHK) for cardiovascular disease prevention. Older physicians and those in smaller practices showed less HHK utilization.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Health Services Research
- Medical Education
Background:
- Cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention relies on effective patient education and risk management tools.
- The Healthy Heart Kit (HHK) is designed to support physicians in CVD prevention and cardiovascular health promotion.
- No prior studies have identified factors influencing physician adoption of the HHK.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between physician characteristics and the utilization of the HHK.
- To identify predictors of HHK use among family physicians.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 153 family physicians in Alberta who received the HHK for a two-month trial.
- Data collection via questionnaire from 115 participating physicians regarding HHK usage and physician variables.
- Analysis included socio-demographic, cognitive, and behavioral factors associated with HHK use.
Main Results:
- Physician agreement with and confidence in the HHK strongly predicted its use, explaining 46% of the variability.
- Higher HHK use was associated with greater physician agreement and confidence.
- Time since graduation was inversely related to HHK use, with a trend towards lower use in smaller practices.
Conclusions:
- Strategies to enhance physician agreement are crucial for implementing clinical tools like the HHK.
- Future efforts should focus on engaging older physicians and solo practitioners in adopting new health management tools.
Objective:
The Healthy Heart Kit (HHK) is a risk management and patient education kit for the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and the promotion of CV health. There are currently no published data examining predictors of HHK use by physicians. The main objective of this study was to examine the association between physicians' characteristics (socio-demographic, cognitive, and behavioural) and the use of the HHK.
Methods:
All registered family physicians in Alberta (n=3068) were invited to participate in the "Healthy Heart Kit" Study. Consenting physicians (n=153) received the Kit and were requested to use it for two months. At the end of this period, a questionnaire collected data on the frequency of Kit use by physicians, as well as socio-demographic, cognitive, and behavioural variables pertaining to the physicians.
Results:
The questionnaire was returned by 115 physicians (follow-up rate = 75%). On a scale ranging from 0 to 100, the mean score of Kit use was 61 [SD=26]. A multiple linear regression showed that "agreement with the Kit" and the degree of "confidence in using the Kit" was strongly associated with Kit use, explaining 46% of the variability for Kit use. Time since graduation was inversely associated with Kit use, and a trend was observed for smaller practices to be associated with lower use.
Conclusion:
Given these findings, future research and practice should explore innovative strategies to gain initial agreement among physicians to employ such clinical tools. Participation of older physicians and solo-practitioners in this process should be emphasized.
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