Improving Cardiovascular Patient Knowledge and Increasing Compliance

Kayleigh Hester, BSN, RN, Graduate Student, PCNP Program

Bonnie Sanderson, PhD, RN, Faculty Advisor

BACKGROUND
According to the American Heart Association,
heart disease is the number 1 killer of
Americans today and, in many cases, heart
disease can be prevented. Cardiovascular
disorders often require that patients
implement many lifestyle modifications,
some of which are not adhered to. If patients
were more compliant to their recommended
medication and lifestyle therapies, it may
result in better patient outcomes.
PICO

PURPOSE
The purpose of this project is to
determine the knowledge base of
cardiovascular patients regarding
general cardiac topics. The project also
seeks to determine the patients
confidence in their ability to be
compliant and adhere to their
prescribed therapies, as well as explore
possible reasons for non-compliance.
This project will evaluate if there is an
increase in knowledge and patient
confidence based on the intervention.

Pre- and Post- Intervention Barriers to Adherence Scores

Each patient was asked whether they agreed or disagreed with the
following statements. Patient were asked to circle their answer
on a scale from 1-5.
5=strongly agree, 4=agree, 3=neither agree or disagree,
2=disagree, 1=strongly disagree.
Item One: I have to take too many pills each day.
Item Two: It is hard to remember to take my medications every day.
Item Three: I do not enjoy physical activity.
Item Four: Having to cut back on my salt intake is unpleasant.
Pre- Intervention Total

Post- Intervention Total

Item One

3.4

3.0667

Item Two

3.3333

3.0667

Item Three

4.3333

3.5333

Item Four

3.4667

3.1333

Demographic Data
Gender: 53.3% men, 46.7% women

Among patients with cardiovascular

disorders, does enhanced patient education
that includes adherence strategies,
compared to routine education, increase
patient knowledge and improve adherence
to recommended therapies?

Key References:

RESULTS

Ethnicity: 60.0% white, 33.3% African American, 6.7%

Hispanic.
Average age: 59.867 (60) years.
% Smokers: 53.3%
% Non-smokers: 46.7%

CONCLUSIONS
METHODS
Target population: Men and women
with an established cardiovascular
disorder or post MI with scheduled clinic
visits
Measures: Patient knowledge and
confidence in their ability to be
compliant
Instrument: Patient Knowledge
questionnaire and compliance scale
Intervention: Enhanced education that
includes adherence strategies

American Heart Association. (2013). My american heart. Retrieved from

http://my.americanheart.org/professional/Research/Research_UCM_316889_SubHomePage.jsp
Appel, A. J., Maruthur, N., & Wang, N. (2009). Lifestyle interventions reduce coronary heart disease risk. Circulation, 119, 2026-2031. doi: 10.1161/
CIRCULATIONAHA.108.809491
Redman, B. (2003). Measurement tools in patient education. (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.

Patient total knowledge and total confidence scores increased postintervention. Patient barriers to adherence scores decreased post-intervention, which is
desirable because lower scores indicate improvement.
Enhanced patient education with adherence strategies did improve patient knowledge
scores, patients confidence in their ability to be compliant, and patient attitudes towards adher
to their recommended therapies.
Pre-knowledge survey total score was 7.5333 and post-knowledge survey total score
was 14.3333 with a statistically significant improvement of .000 (p<0.05= statistically significa
Pre-confidence scale total score was 20.8 and the post-confidence scale total
score was 23.1333 with a statistically significant improvement of .005.
Barriers to adherence scale scores: Item One- pre-intervention was 3.4
and post-intervention was 3.0667, with a statistically significant improvement of .019.
Item Two- pre-intervention was 3.3333 and post-intervention was 3.0667, with a
statistically significant improvement of .041. Item Three- Pre-intervention was 4.3333
and post-intervention was 3.5333, with a statistically significant improvement of .001.
Item Four- Pre-intervention was 3.4667 and post-intervention was 3.1333, with a
statistically significant improvement of .019.