Perceptions on Tailored Educational Messaging to Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: Towards Increased Patient Engagement and Medication Adherence

Background The risk of stroke is high among elderly patients with Atrial Fibrillation (AF) and is associated with inadequate adherence to oral anticoagulation (OAC) therapy. Reasons for non-adherence may include patientsu0027 lack of knowledge about their disease. Research suggests that health education could increase patient engagement. Prior interventions to increase engagement were directed at promoting good health behaviors, such as regular checkups and medication adherence. Objectives In this study, the multi-platform technology intervention delivered regular personalized education to AF patients to increase their engagement. Educational messages included tailored text content as well as topic-specific videos featuring both health system cardiologists or pharmacists and patients. In this presentation, we share participantsu0027 perceptions of these educational messages. Methods Participants included AF patients (N = 160, M = 71 years, range = 42-97) on OAC therapy, who were randomized into control and intervention groups for a six-month study. Both groups received a smart pill bottle for OAC medication to track adherence. In addition, the intervention group received tailored educational messages through a patient portal. Experience sampling (5-point Likert scale, 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree) was used to evaluate participantsu0027 perception of the messages. Results Preliminary results showed that information shared in educational messages was useful (4.3/5), easy to understand (4.4), and helpful (4.1). Videos helped participants better understand the shared information (4.0). Perhaps because this information was not new to participants (they neither agreed or disagreed that information was new to them; 3.0), most disagreed that they wanted more information than what was provided (2.4). Most participants disagreed that the educational messages made them feel more worried about their health condition (2.8). Participants were neutral that the messaging impacted how they managed their disease (3.4) and that the messaging prompted them to further explore their health condition (3.5). Conclusions Overall, although patients may view the information shared in educational messages as useful, they are neutral regarding its impact on their own disease management and health behaviors.