A questionnaire on treatment satisfaction and disease specific knowledge among patients with acute coronary syndrome. II: Insights for patient education and quality improvement

ObjectiveSecondary prevention for coronary heart disease is achieved by pharmaceutical control of risk factors and patients’ own self management behaviour. To comply with longterm treatment patients need sufficient knowledge of their condition and should be satisfied with acute care. Therefore a questionnaire measuring both issues was constructed.Methods and resultsLatent class analysis applied in a sample of over 2000 patients suffering from acute coronary syndrome revealed 4 configurative patterns of knowledge and 5 distinct patterns of (dis-)satisfaction. Nearly 50% of all patients displayed insufficient knowledge upon discharge. Deficits clustered around misinformation on necessary lifestyle changes versus dysfunctional strategies for future emergency situations. Satisfaction and disease specific knowledge were interrelated in complex patterns.ConclusionsDisease specific knowledge and satisfaction with treatment proved to be psychometrically valid indicators of the quality of the treatment process that might also have an impact on outcome.Practice implicationsA validated questionnaire is ready for routine administration after discharge of patients with acute coronary syndrome from acute hospital care. Patient education efforts and quality improvement in treatment centres might be effectively monitored using this questionnaire.