Educational needs of adolescents with congenital heart disease: Impact of a transition intervention programme.

BACKGROUND: Adolescents and young adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) have complex health needs and require lifelong follow-up. Interventions to facilitate the paediatric-to-adult healthcare transition are recommended, but outcomes remain largely under-investigated. AIMS: To identify the educational needs and the impact of a transition intervention on knowledge and self-management skills in adolescents and young adults with CHD. METHODS: From September 2014 to May 2015, 115 adolescents and young adults with CHD (mean age 17±2 years; 47 girls) were consecutively enrolled. Among these, 22 had participated in a structured educational programme in the previous 11±4 months (education group) and 93 had not (comparison group). Knowledge about their health status was assessed using a targeted CHD questionnaire. RESULTS: The mean overall health knowledge score (maximum of 20) in the education group was significantly higher than in the comparison group (11.7±3.5 vs. 8.6±3.2; P<0.001). We observed significant gaps in knowledge in the comparison group: e.g. 61.3% vs. 90.0% knew their condition name (P=0.01), 21.5% vs. 63.6% were aware of recommended follow-up (P=0.004), and 12.8% vs. 75.0% of girls knew to check their heart condition before pregnancy (P<0.01). In multivariable analysis, after adjustment for age, structured CHD education and higher academic attainment were significant determinants of health-related knowledge (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Education during adolescent-to-adult transition has a significant impact on health knowledge. Structured CHD educational programmes could improve understanding and prevent potential future complications.

Home point-of-care international normalised ratio monitoring sustained by a non-selective educational program in children.

Adverse events related to vitamin K antagonist (VKA) therapy might be reduced by point-of-care international normalised ratio (POC INR) monitoring supported by an education program (EP). Our aim was to evaluate the efficacy of a non-selective VKA paediatric EP (regardless of the social, economic, educational or linguistic levels) by analysing the time spent in the therapeutic range (TTR), VKA adverse events and compliance to treatment, and INR control prescriptions. The EP was modified from the pediatric EP previously described but improved by a specifically devised child-focused game. One hundred four consecutive children (median age 8 years) receiving VKA were included in a standardised EP. Patients were in self-testing, and dose adjustments were made by a single physician for three tolerance ranges according to the underlying disease: [2.5-4], [1.8-3.2], and [1.5-2.5]. The median follow-up was 481 days [70-1,001]. The overall TTR was 81.4% [36-100]. The TTR were 74%, 85.6% and 89% for the ranges [2.5-4], [1.8-3.2], and [1.5-2.5], respectively. These results were sustainable during the study period. Only one serious VKA adverse event was recorded. The median number of POC INR tests was 2.5 [1.6-5.7] INR per patient and month. Patients/families performed POC INR when requested in 86.9% of the cases. More than 90% of the families found the EP supportive and wished to follow a long-term reinforcement program. In conclusion, this non-selective child-focused EP for VKA therapy, strongly supported by our dedicated game, is useful in maintaining efficacy, safety and compliance to anticoagulation and its monitoring.