Evaluation of secondary prevention knowledge in patients with coronary syndrome

Background/introduction Patient education is a crucial component in the care of patients with coronary syndrome. Nursing has an important role in disease prevention and health promotion. More than half of patients with coronary artery disease have limited knowledge which is associated with low commitment to lifestyle modification, increased hospitalizations and higher risk of mortality. The core competencies of the nurses is to promote, maintain, and restore the health of individuals in preventive care. Knowledge assessment can support nurses to plan educational strategies to address the information needs of their patients, providing effective support in secondary prevention. Purpose (1) To assess secondary prevention knowledge in patients with coronary syndrome and (2) to compare knowledge levels among groups of patients aged <60 years and aged >60 years. Methods This was a cross-sectional study of hospitalised patients with coronary syndrome. The Coronary Artery Diseases Education Questionnaire (CADE-Q II) was used to evaluate knowledge. CADE-Q II has 31 items with 4 possible answers. Questions are related to health status, risk factors, exercise, nutrition, and psychosocial risk. The maximum score is 93, with higher scores indicating greater knowledge. Descriptive analysis of the CADE-Q II was performed. SPSS Version 22 was used for analysis, and the level of significance was set at 0.05 for all tests. No items were missing. Results We included 155 patients; mean age 58,26±8,37; 22 % female; 78 % male; 56 % < 60 years old; 44 % > 60 years old; 71 % hypertension; 22 % diabetes; 32 % smokers. Mean knowledge score of participants was 61,4/93. Patients obtained values of completely correct answers in the following areas: health status 55 %; risk factors 47 %; exercise 64 %; nutrition 50 %; psychosocial risk 64 %. The level of knowledge based on the scores obtained: great 0 %; good 37 %; acceptable 55 %; poor 7 %; inadequate 1 %. Within the age groups, we obtained statistically significant results, patients aged <60 years got score 63,2/93; patients aged >60 years got score 59,0/93 (p=0.012); in the exercise domain, patients aged <60 years got score 16,5/21; patients aged >60 years got score 13,9/21 (p=0.001); in the psychosocial domain, patients aged <60 years got score 10,9/15; patients aged >60 years got score 9,7/15 (p=0.034). Conclusion The results of study point to a lower of knowledge of patients with coronary syndrome regarding their disease and factors affecting cardiovascular risk in all studied domains. The use of an assessment tool in patients with coronary syndrome allows nurses to plan educational process, providing effective support in prevention. Adequate information, promotion of health literacy of patients are an essential part of prevention and minimization of risk factors. Nurses during the nursing process by using CADE-Q II ought to promote knowledge and attitudes towards cardioprotective lifestyle.