[Effectiveness of an educational intervention on hypertension directed at elderly hypertensive patients]

Effect of a repeated educational intervention versus an initial intervention on blood pressure control in hypertensive patients

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

Hypertension is one of the main cardiovascular risk factors. An educational intervention, aimed at increasing or reinforcing the patient's knowledge, can contribute to better control of their blood pressure. Our goal was to evaluate the efficacy of a continuing therapeutic education versus an initial intervention in hypertensive patients.

METHODS

Experimental study of multicenter community intervention, through the application of a therapeutic education program in hypertension.

RESULTS

980 patients on antihypertensive treatment were included, 490 in each group, with a mean age of 65 years, and 50% women, baseline mean SBP in both groups was136 mmHg. Regarding knowledge about hypertension, although a similar initial improvement was observed in both groups, at the end of the study, in the continuous intervention group (CIG) an average of 23.06 correct answers was observed, while in the Initial intervention group (IIG) the mean was 20.91, being the difference statistically significant (p < 0.001). At the end of the study, the mean SBP was 127.5 mmHg in the CIG and 136.57 mmHg in the IIG group. Likewise, a lower percentage of patients with a BMI ≥25 was observed in the CIG (78.2%) than in the IIG 82.6%, this difference being statistically significant (p < 0.001). This same effect was observed on the abdominal perimeter, observing an increased abdominal perimeter in 46.3% of the CIG compared to 68.8% in the IIG (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIóN: A continuous educational intervention increases the degree of knowledge about hypertension compared to an initial intervention. Likewise, this intervention is associated with an improvement in blood pressure, weight, body mass index and abdominal girth figures.

[Construction of a questionnaire to assess the knowledge of patients on the waiting list for liver transplantation: a pilot study]

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the suitability of a questionnaire designed to assess the knowledge of patients on the waiting list for liver transplantation, through a pilot study.

METHOD

A descriptive study of the construction of a knowledge questionnaire for patients on the waiting list for liver transplantation. This study was developed in the liver pre-transplant clinic of the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona from October 2011 to April 2012. An initial questionnaire was designed. This draft was improved following the recommendations of experts in liver transplantation, and after the completion of a preliminary test. The questionnaire obtained was applied to 25 patients in the pilot study. The quality of the questions was measured using the discrimination index and the index of attraction. The construct was assessed by principal component analysis and factor analysis.

RESULTS

The questionnaire consisted of 36 items (questions). Of these, 31 are independent. The discrimination index identified only 4 questions with a good (desired information ai=.30) and very good (list exclusion ai=.40, list and time on list ai=.58) level of discrimination. The remaining questions had a poor or insufficient level of discrimination (ai<29). The principal component analysis and factor analysis indicated that the questions related to the disease (10) and the waiting list (4) were essential in the questionnaire, and the questions related to demographic data (7) and the therapeutic regimen (8) should be eliminated.

CONCLUSIONS

The questionnaire obtained needs to be modified to assess the knowledge of patients on waiting list for liver transplantation.