Knowledge expectations, self-care, and health complaints of heart failure patients scheduled for cardiac resynchronization therapy implantation

Figures & data

Table 1 Characteristics of the total sample (N=104) and comparison between patients with low and high knowledge expectations

	Total sample (N=104)	Low knowledge expectations (n=51)	High knowledge expectations (n=53)	Pa
Age in years (mean ± standard deviation)	70 (10)	67 (10)	72 (8)	0.029
	N (%)	N (%)	N (%)	Pb
Sex (n=104)
Male	82 (79)	39 (76)	43 (81)	0.366
Education (n=102)
Basic education (≤9 years)	45 (44)	19 (37)	26 (49)	0.382
College level	29 (28)	13 (25)	16 (30)
Academic degree	27 (27)	17 (33)	10 (19)
Other	1 (1)	1 (2)	0 (0)
Employment status (n=104)
Employed	21 (20)	13 (25)	8 (15)	0.433
Retired	75 (72)	34 (67)	41 (77)
Other	8 (8)	4 (8)	4 (8)
History of employment within health care (n=99)	18 (18)	9 (18)	9 (17)	0.546
Living with a spouse/other person (n=102)	81 (79)	38 (75)	43 (81)	0.452
NYHA functional classification (n=88)
Class I	5 (6)	3 (6)	2 (4)	0.378
Class II	35 (40)	21 (41)	14 (26)
Class III	47 (53)	21 (41)	26 (49)
Class IV	1 (1)	0 (0)	1 (2)
Comorbidities (n=102)
Hypertension	48 (47)	24 (47)	24 (45)	0.430
Myocardial infarction	39 (38)	20 (39)	19 (36)	0.377
Diabetes mellitus	23 (23)	10 (20)	13 (25)	0.398
Chronic kidney disease	15 (15)	7 (14)	8 (15)	0.566
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease	11 (11)	4 (8)	7 (13)	0.310
Medication (n=99)
Beta-blockers	92 (93)	44 (86)	48 (91)	0.596
Diuretics	82 (83)	38 (75)	44 (83)	0.409
Statins	60 (61)	24 (47)	36 (68)	0.050
Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors	54 (55)	24 (47)	31 (58)	0.257
Antiplatelets	49 (50)	21 (41)	28 (53)	0.239
Anticoagulants	44 (44)	19 (37)	24 (45)	0.356
Angiotensin II receptor blockers	40 (40)	21 (41)	18 (34)	0.207
Vasodilators	32 (32)	13 (25)	18 (34)	0.299
Digitalis	19 (19)	7 (14)	12 (23)	0.219

Notes:

a Mann–Whitney U-test.

b Chi-square test (Fisher’s exact test).

Abbreviation: NYHA, New York Heart Association.

Table 2 Expected knowledge of patients undergoing CRT implantation (N=104)

	KEhp scale median (IQR)	Highest expectations–top three items per subscale	% of patients who fully agree
Total scale	3.68 (0.50)
Knowledge dimensions		“I expect knowledge on…”
Biophysiological	4.00 (0.13)	Possible complications	91
		Examinations which will be performed	89
		How I can help to prevent complications	89
Functional	3.88 (0.38)	When I can wash/shower/sauna	89
		What I can do myself to meet personal needs	85
		Physical exercise which I can do	84
Experiential	3.67 (1.00)	Feelings illness and its treatment may cause	63
		Who I can talk with about those feelings	59
		How I can use earlier hospital experience in current care	57
Financial	3.67 (1.00)	Medication cost	68
		Costs of further care or treatment provided at home	65
		Rehabilitation and adaptation training courses and their costs	62
Ethical	3.57 (0.50)	Own responsibility for the success of care	80
		How I can take part in decision-making about own care	77
		Rights in the hospital	75
Social	3.50 (0.83)	Where to get further care or treatment if needed	79
		Who informs next of kin about patient’s illness and treatment	71
		How next of kin can take part in care	60

Notes: Scores range between 1 and 4; high scores indicate high expectations.

Abbreviations: CRT, cardiac resynchronization therapy; KEhp, Knowledge Expectations of hospital patients; IQR, interquartile range.

Figure 1 Health complaints (measured with the Adjusted Postoperative Recovery Profile) in CRT patients presented as a proportion (%) of the group (N=104) who had mild, moderate, or severe problems with each complaint.

Abbreviation: CRT, cardiac resynchronization therapy.

Table 3 Correlation coefficients (Spearman) among knowledge expectations of CRT patients (N=104) and their age, self-care, and health complaints

	KEhp scale total	Knowledge dimensions (subscales)
		Biophysiological	Functional	Experiential	Ethical	Social	Financial
Age rs	0.203*	0.162	0.102	0.281*	0.233*	0.253*	0.248*
Self-carea rs	0.083	0.150	0.165	0.185	0.091	−0.048	−0.001
Health complaintsb rs	−0.047	−0.002	−0.095	−0.155	−0.011	−0.020	−0.048

Notes:

* P<0.05.

a European Heart Failure Self-care Behavior Scale.

b Health complaints: Adjusted Postoperative Recovery Profile (Scale).

Abbreviations: CRT, cardiac resynchronization therapy; KEhp, Knowledge Expectations of hospital patients.

Table 4 The results of binary logistic regression analysis of the contribution of age and health complaints to high or low knowledge expectations (95% confidence intervals for odds ratio)

	β (SE)	Lower	Odds ratio	Upper	P
Constant	−0.860 (2.250)		0.423		0.702
Age	0.049 (0.023)	1.004	1.050	1.098	0.033
Health complaints	−0.757 (0.425)	0.204	0.469	1.079	0.075

Notes: R²=0.374 (Hosmer and Lemeshow), 0.090 (Cox and Snell), 0.0120 (Nagelkerke). Model χ²(2)=9.726, P<0.05.

Abbreviation: SE, standard error.