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Self-Study-Based Informed Decision-Making Tool for Empowerment of Treatment Adherence Among Chronic Heart Failure
Lea Iten1, Kevin Selby2, Celine Glauser1
1Cardiology, Cardiovascular Department, University Hospital, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland)
|March 28, 2025
Summary
A new tool improved heart failure (HF) patients' understanding of their disease and treatment needs. However, it did not increase their willingness to adhere to drug prescriptions, as unanswered questions remained.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Patient Adherence Research
- Health Education
Background:
- Heart failure (HF) patients often exhibit suboptimal adherence to prescribed medications.
- Informed decision-making is a potential strategy to enhance medication adherence in HF patients.
- Developing effective tools to support patient understanding and adherence is crucial for managing chronic conditions like HF.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of a self-study-based informed decision-making tool in improving drug prescription adherence among ambulatory heart failure patients.
- To assess whether enhanced patient comprehension of heart failure and its treatment translates to improved adherence willingness.
Main Methods:
- A quasi-experimental design compared a test group (n=40) exposed to an informed decision-making tool and questionnaire with a control group (n=40) receiving only the questionnaire.
- The tool and questionnaire, based on COMPAR-EU recommendations, assessed willingness to adhere to HF drug prescriptions.
- Agreement with statements was measured on a 0-4 scale, with higher scores indicating greater agreement.
Main Results:
- The test group demonstrated significantly improved comprehension of heart failure (p=0.03) and acceptance of combination therapy (p=0.009) and daily intake requirements (p=0.004).
- Despite improved understanding, the test group showed less agreement that all aspects of their disease were understood (p<0.001), indicating remaining questions.
- No significant difference in the willingness to adhere to HF drug treatment was observed between the test and control groups (p=0.28).
Conclusions:
- The self-study tool effectively enhanced heart failure patients' comprehension of the disease and the necessity of treatment.
- The tool did not significantly improve patients' willingness to adhere to drug prescriptions, likely due to unresolved patient questions.
- Further refinement of decision-making tools is needed to address remaining uncertainties and fully support medication adherence in heart failure management.
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