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Published on: February 26, 2013
Disease-Related Knowledge and Need for Revision of Care for Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: A Cross Sectional
Helga Yr Erlingsdottir1,2, Audur Ketilsdottir1,2, Jeroen M Hendriks3,4
1Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, School of Health Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.
Insights
Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) often lack sufficient knowledge about their condition, with health literacy playing a key role. Improving AF patient education and involving patients in care can enhance disease understanding.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Patient Education
- Health Literacy
Background:
- Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common arrhythmia requiring ongoing patient management.
- Understanding of AF is crucial for effective self-care and treatment adherence.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess disease-related knowledge in outpatients with atrial fibrillation (AF).
- To investigate the relationship between AF knowledge, health literacy, and demographic factors.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional survey study involving 185 AF outpatients in Iceland.
- Validated instruments were used: Atrial Fibrillation Knowledge Scale (AFKS) and European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q).
- Parametric statistical tests were employed for data analysis.
Main Results:
- Participants demonstrated inadequate AF knowledge, with a mean AFKS score of 6.5/10.
- Knowledge gaps were most significant in responding to AF episodes (17% correct).
- Sufficient health literacy correlated with better AF knowledge (p=0.05), explaining 22% of knowledge variance alongside age, education, and AF pattern.
Conclusions:
- Inadequate AF knowledge is prevalent, potentially linked to insufficient health literacy.
- Integrated patient management and tailored education considering health literacy are recommended to improve AF knowledge.
Purpose:
To evaluate the disease-related knowledge of outpatients with atrial fibrillation (AF), and the relationship with health literacy and other background variables.
Patients And Methods:
In this cross-sectional survey study, conducted in Iceland, patients with AF scheduled for an electrical cardioversion or AF catheter ablation were recruited from a hospital outpatient clinic. They completed the validated Atrial Fibrillation Knowledge Scale (AFKS), a 11-item instrument (with possible score 0-10, 10 being the best knowledge) which evaluates knowledge pertaining to AF in general, AF symptom detection and AF treatment. Health literacy was assessed with the 16 item European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q) and patients answered questions about their background. Data was analysed with parametric tests.
Results:
In total, 185 participants completed the questionnaire (mean age 63 ±10), 77% were male, 74% with previous electrical cardioversion and 76% were on non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOAC) medication. The mean score on the AFKS was 6.5 (±1.8). The best knowledge was concerning oral anticoagulation therapy (96% answered correctly) and the least knowledge was regarding responses to AF episodes (17% answered correctly). Patients with sufficient health literacy (52%) had better knowledge of AF (M 6.8 ±1.7 vs M 6.3 ±1.9, p = 0.05). Age, educational level, health literacy and AF pattern explained 22% of the variance in AF knowledge.
Conclusion:
Patients with AF have inadequate knowledge of their condition, potentially as a result of insufficient health literacy. AF knowledge may be improved using integrated management where patients are actively involved in the care and health literacy is considered in the provided patient education.
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