Health literacy, health-related quality of life, and atrial fbrillation.

Kara E Montbleau,Jared W Magnani,Deandre King,Lori Henault,Albert Lee

doi:10.1080/2331205x.2017.1412121

Kara E Montbleau, Jared W Magnani + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1080/2331205x.2017.1412121

Copy DOI

Abstract

Atrial fbrillation (AF) is a chronic heart rhythm disorder associated with significant adverse outcomes. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an established metric of health status in individuals with AF, and health literacy is highly relevant to how individuals experience HRQoL. We conducted a pilot investigation to examine the association of health literacy and health related quality of life (HRQoL) in a limited-sized cohort of individuals with AF, all of whom had AF and were ≥60 years old. We used the Short-Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults to categorize participants by health literacy status. We used the SF-36 to examine HRQoL in eight subscales and two composite scores, and related health literacy to HRQoL. In our cohort of 40 participants with AF (45% female, age 77.9 ± 8.0 years), 62.5% had inadequate health literacy. However, we did not identify a significant association between health literacy and HRQoL. We expect our limited-sized sample is a chief limitation for why we did not see an association between health literacy and HRQoL in this convenience cohort. Further studies examining health literacy and its impact on patient-centered outcomes in AF are essential.

Highlights

Atrial fbrillation (AF) is the most commonly encountered heart rhythm disorder with an estimated US prevalence of 2.7–6.1 million people (Mozaffarian et al, 2016)
Health literacy has had limited study in AF and Health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and we investigated the association of health literacy and HRQoL in a limited-sized cohort of individuals with prevalent AF
Participants with inadequate health literacy were more likely to be of non-white race (p < 0.05)

Summary

Introduction

Atrial fbrillation (AF) is the most commonly encountered heart rhythm disorder with an estimated US prevalence of 2.7–6.1 million people (Mozaffarian et al, 2016). AF has profound social and medical costs, and is associated with adverse outcomes that include a 2to 5-fold increased risk of stroke, heart failure, and mortality (Stewart, Hart, Hole, & McMurray, 2002; Wolf, Dawber, Thomas, & Kannel, 1978). AF treatment requires chronic therapies, daily medication adherence, accurate symptom reporting, and close monitoring and follow-up in order to prevent such adversity. Health literacy is relevant for these aspects of the patient experience of AF. Current AF treatment guidelines emphasize symptom assessment and shared-decision-making to improve “patient-centered care,” yet health literacy has not been well incorporated into models of patient-centered care (Kirchhof et al, 2013)

Methods

Results

Conclusion