Understanding the barriers to using oral anticoagulants among long-term aspirin users with atrial fibrillation - a qualitative study

Pre-stroke anticoagulation for atrial fibrillation in primary English speakers and non-primary English speakers: a multicentre retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Anticoagulation can prevent most strokes in individuals with atrial fibrillation (AF); however, many people presenting with stroke and known AF are not anticoagulated. Language barriers and poor health literacy have previously been associated with decreased patient medication adherence. The association between language barriers and initiation of anticoagulation therapy for AF is uncertain.

AIMS

The aims of this study were to determine whether demographic factors, including non-English primary language, were (1) associated with not being initiated on anticoagulation for known AF prior to admission with stroke, and (2) associated with non-adherence to anticoagulation in the setting of known AF prior to admission with stroke.

METHODS

A multicentre retrospective cohort study was conducted for consecutive individuals admitted to the three South Australian tertiary hospitals with stroke units over a 5-year period.

RESULTS

There were 6829 individuals admitted with stroke. These cases included 5835 ischaemic stroke patients, 1333 of whom had pre-existing AF. Only 40.0% presenting with ischaemic stroke in the setting of known pre-existing AF were anticoagulated. When controlling for demographics, socioeconomic status and past medical history (including the components of the CHADS2VASC score and anticoagulation contraindications), having a primary language other than English was associated with a lower likelihood of having been commenced on anticoagulant for known pre-stroke AF (odds ratio: 0.52, 95% confidence interval: 0.36-0.77, P = 0.001), but was not associated with a differing likelihood of anticoagulation adherence.

CONCLUSIONS

A significant proportion of patients with stroke have pre-existing unanticoagulated AF; these rates are substantially higher if the primary language is other than English. Targeted research and interventions to minimise evidence-treatment gaps in this cohort may significantly reduce stroke burden.

BARRIERS TO GUIDELINE-DIRECTED ANTICOAGULATION IN PATIENTS WITH ATRIAL FIBRILLATION NEW APPROACHES TO AN OLD PROBLEM

Optimising guideline-directed anticoagulation in atrial fibrillation remains a perennial problem despite strong evidence for improved health outcomes with use of guideline-directed anticoagulation. Efforts to improve uptake have been hampered by barriers found at the level of the physician, patient, disease and choices of therapy. Clinician judgement is often clouded by factors such as therapeutic inertia, aversion to bleeding risk and implicit bias. For patients, negative pre-conceptions of therapy, impact of therapy on day-to-day life and the nocebo effect pose significant barriers. Both groups are impacted by poor education. Utility of a single pronged approach directed towards clinicians or patients have demonstrated variable success, with the highest impact appreciated in studies employing shared decision models. Further, there is emerging evidence for use of integrated models of care, which have shown improved efficacy in improving patient outcomes, as well as use of digital platforms such as mobile app-based interventions, which can be of aid to the clinician in improving patient adherence to anticoagulation with translated improved outcomes in clinical trials. Our narrative review article aims to investigate the physician and health system, patient, as well as drug therapy and disease barriers to uptake of guideline-directed anticoagulation in treatment of non-valvular atrial fibrillation.

[Patient-centeredness]

Hintergrund

Patientenorientierung entwickelt sich politisch und gesellschaftlich zum entscheidenden Leitbild unseres Gesundheitssystems, doch in der praktischen Umsetzung zeigen sich Probleme durch konfligierende Ziele und Interessen.

Ziel der Arbeit

Darstellung des Begriffs Patientenorientierung sowie möglicher Messmethoden mit besonderem Fokus auf den deutschen Sprachraum.

Material und Methoden

Narrative Übersichtsarbeit durch Literatursuche in Medline, der Cochrane Library, PsyINfo und CINHAL. Aus den Ergebnissen wird das Konzept von „Patient-Reported Experience Measures“ (PREMs) und ein PREM-System entwickelt.

Ergebnisse

Die Patientenorientierung ist kein abgeschlossenes theoretisches Konstrukt. Aktuell werden 16 Dimensionen der Patientenorientierung unterschieden. Die am weitesten verbreitete Messmethode zur Erfassung der Patientenorientierung sind PREMs. Anders als in anderen Ländern gibt es im Deutschen nur eine begrenzte Anzahl von PREMs, deren methodologische Messungsqualität häufig unklar ist. Wesentliche chirurgische Aspekte der Patientenversorgung werden durch vorliegende deutschsprachige PREMs nicht erfasst. Es wird ein PREM-System in deutscher Sprache entwickelt und der Forschungsbedarf aufgezeigt.

Diskussion

Anders als in anderen Ländern gibt es in deutscher Sprache kein zusammenhängendes PREM-System. Die systematische Erfassung der Patientenorientierung ist daher insbesondere in der Chirurgie aktuell nicht adäquat möglich. Wesentliche methodologische, organisatorische, regulatorische und finanzielle Aspekte müssen bewältigt werden, bevor die Patientenorientierung als fundiertes Konstrukt im klinischen Alltag implementiert werden kann.