Effectiveness of Education of Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome and their Carers

Background: Interventions which use videotape for the education of patients with coronary disease have been used internationally and been proved to be effective. Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of educational intervention for patients with a first incident of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and their carers, using of an educational videotape viewed in the presence of a nurse. Method: A pilot intervention was implemented at the Coronary Disease Unit of the General Hospital of a large island in the Cyclades, Greece, during the period January–December 2007. The sample consisted of 26 patients with a first incidence of ACS, and 30 of their carers. The sample was divided into an intervention group (15 patients and 13 carers) who watched the videotape in the presence of a nurse to provide clarification, and a control group (11 patients and 17 carers) who were not exposed to any formal intervention. The evaluation of the intervention was conducted with the use of a purpose made questionnaire administered to both the intervention and control groups. The statistical software STATA was used in the analysis, which comprised chi-square, Mann-Whitney U, and Wilcoxon signed rank tests, and the statistical significance level adopted was p<0.05. Results: The mean age of each group was 50.9 years (median of intervention group = 52 years, median of control group = 54 years). The two groups were comparable in terms of both demographic factors and coronary heart disease knowledge at the time of hospitalization. After the intervention, the mean knowledge score of the intervention group increased by 4.43 (median: 4.00, p=0.000), while for the control group there was no statistically significant improvement (mean increase: 0.86, median: 0.00, p=0.329). The effectiveness concerned mainly understanding of the physiology and function of the heart, the role of cholesterol in atherosclerosis, the risk factors for coronary disease, the importance of physical activity and the identification of symptoms. Conclusions: The use of an educational videotape viewed in the presence of a nurse for educating patients with a first incident of ACS and their carers was found to be effective. The adoption of such a practice on a regular basis could be an important tool for tertiary prevention of ACS.