A pilot study of the development and implementation of a 'best practice' patient information booklet for patients with chronic venous insufficiency.

OBJECTIVE

Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) is a chronic condition that has a significant impact on the individual. For the effective, long-term management of CVI, it is important that patients are educated on the patho-physiology of the condition and strategies that can minimize the related complications. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop and pilot a 'best practice' information booklet for CVI and to assess the impact of this booklet on CVI-related knowledge and quality of life (QOL).

METHOD

A 'best practice' CVI booklet was developed based on the best available evidence from the literature. Participants with a formal diagnosis of CVI with a clinical, aetiological, anatomical and pathological elements (CEAP) classification of 3-6 were recruited from vascular outpatient clinics at a tertiary hospital. Each participant was given and explained the CVI booklet and asked to undertake the recommended activities at home over the next six-month period. Measurements were taken at baseline, one month and six months postbooklet implementation via the previously validated Health Education Impact and the CVI Questionnaires.

RESULTS

Twenty-six participants, aged 38-90 years (mean 71.8 ± 12.9 years) initially participated in the study, with 20 participants remaining at the six-month time point (77% completion rate). At the end of one month, there had been a significant improvement in doing at least one activity to improve CVI (P = 0.010), monitoring CVI (P = 0.045), having effective ways to prevent CVI symptoms (P = 0.045), knowing CVI triggers (P = 0.005), ability to travel by car and bus (P = 0.05), undertaking social activities (P = 0.030) and feeling less embarrassed about the legs (P = 0.025). At trial end (6 months), there was a significant improvement in doing at least one activity to improve CVI (P = 0.003), knowing CVI triggers (P = 0.016), having effective ways of preventing CVI symptoms (P = 0.008), worrying about the CVI (P = 0.030), feeling hopeless because of CVI problems (P = 0.007), leg and ankle pain (P = 0.038), ability to do domestic duties (P = 0.017), feeling nervous and tense (P = 0.026), and feeling less embarrassed about the legs (P = 0.008). Although other domains improved in the study, none of these improvements were statistically significant.

CONCLUSION

Although a small pilot study, the outcomes demonstrate that the implementation of a 'best practice' CVI information booklet into a patients management routine can improve both CVI-related knowledge and QOL.