Can remotely delivered, clinician-created videos improve AF knowledge?
26 Aug 2023
Today’s moderated ePoster session, ‘Partnering with patients through digital health,’ begins with a fascinating trial that assessed the efficacy and feasibility of remotely delivered, clinician-created video education for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).
Given that time to provide education during routine care is limited, Doctor Daniel McIntyre (University of Sydney - Sydney, Australia) and colleagues hypothesised that the time waiting for a clinic appointment may provide an opportunity to improve health knowledge and engagement with clinical care in patients with AF.
Their single-centre trial was conducted in 208 adults awaiting cardiac clinic appointments with ECG-confirmed AF, CHA2DS2-VASc >0 and an active email address or mobile phone. Mean age was 65 years, 65% were male and 56% had paroxysmal AF. Patients were randomised to usual care or an internet-based intervention that involved a series of four animated videos offered prior to clinic presentation with an option to review videos weekly post clinic. Each video was 2–5 minutes long, narrated by treating cardiologists and covered the pathophysiology, diagnosis and clinical management of AF. Videos were designed by the study team within clinical working hours and are freely available (vimeo.com/showcase/7683573). The primary outcome, assessed at baseline and at 90 days, was the participant’s score using the Jessa AF Knowledge Questionnaire (JAKQ), a 16-item validated questionnaire consisting of general AF and anticoagulation-specific questions.
At 90 days, intervention participants were more likely to correctly answer JAKQ questions than controls (odds ratio [OR] 1.23; 95% CI 1.01–1.49). Highly engaged participants who had three or more at-home viewings were more likely to have higher JAKQ scores (OR 1.46; 95% CI 1.14–1.88). Video satisfaction was high, although no significant difference was found in care or education satisfaction (OR 1.32; 95% CI 0.71–2.44).
The authors conclude this low-cost intervention delivered remotely to patients waiting for cardiac clinic appointments was highly acceptable and improved AF knowledge. They highlight potential future investigations related to this intervention, including assessing impact on medication adherence, AF burden and patient-reported quality-of-life outcomes.
