None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Illness perceptions have been found to predict functional outcomes across many illness populations. A new method of measuring illness perceptions, patients’ drawings of their illness, has been validated as an alternative means of assessment. One patient group for whom illness perception drawings have been found to relate to outcomes such as depression and poor illness behaviours are heart patients. Heart patients have also been found to have inaccurate cardiac risk perceptions (Broadbent et al., 2006) and often their mental imagery of what is wrong with their heart is inaccurate (Broadbent et al., 2004). The proposed study will therefore investigate whether a brief, psychoeducational intervention to correct patient’s mental imagery of damage to the heart and how their medication works, can facilitate their recovery through outcomes including return to normal activity, adherence and psychological wellbeing. This study hyothesises that the intervention will improve patients’ illness perceptions as represented through their drawings, and in turn improve their recovery as revealed in functional outcomes such as decreased return to work times and improved adherence. The possible impact of this study clinically, is that if the intervention is proven effective, it could be administered to cardiac patients to help improve their recovery and wellbeing.
Interventions
This study is an intervention study as half the participants will be randomized to complete a brief (10-15 minute), visual, psychoeducation intervention shown to patients on a computer tablet. The intervention will be shown to patients who are randomised to the intervention condition, after the have completed their baseline questionaire. The intervention will be personalized into one of two levels, dependent on the severity of the patients’ heart attack as estimated primarily from their troponin
This study is an intervention study as half the participants will be randomized to complete a brief (10-15 minute), visual, psychoeducation intervention shown to patients on a computer tablet. The intervention will be shown to patients who are randomised to the intervention condition, after the have completed their baseline questionaire. The intervention will be personalized into one of two levels, dependent on the severity of the patients’ heart attack as estimated primarily from their troponin levels (Mild: up to 200 micrograms per litre, or moderate to severe: up to and above 2000 micrograms per litre). The patient’s troponin levels are measured in the bloods taken from patients when they are admitted to hospital. After patients are recruited for the study, their notes will be consulted to obtain their troponin peak level. This will then be used to determine whether the patient fits into the mild or moderate to severe group and which images of approximate damage they will be shown. Patients will also be shown visual representations of how the heart works, how a blood clot forms, an approximation of the damage they have received and what they can now to keep their heart healthy, including animations depicting how their medications of statin and aspirin work and other healthy behaviours.
Sponsors
Dr Elizabeth Broadbent
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Educational / counselling / training
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Patients will be included if they are admitted to the Auckland City Hospital Coronary Care Unit with a diagnosis of Acute Coronary Syndrome.
Exclusion criteria
Patients will be excluded if they cannot speak English and are under 18 years of age.
Outcome results
None listed