Effectiveness of a hospital-based education programme in improving knowledge of the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs among heart failure patients in a Malaysia regional hospital

Objectives The use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in heart failure patients is known to be associated with a wide range of adverse events, including an increased risk of cardiovascular complications. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an education programme in improving the knowledge about the safety of NSAID use among the hospitalized heart failure patients. Method This was a single-arm, quasi-experimental study. It was undertaken in a regional referral centre in Perak State, Malaysia. Each recruited patient received an educational leaflet and a 10-min counselling intervention by a clinical pharmacist. A 5-item questionnaire was used to assess their knowledge before and after the intervention. Each correct answer was awarded with 1 point, and a patient with a total score of 3 points or above was considered having adequate knowledge. Key findings A total of 31 patients received the intervention and completed the assessment. They were mainly female (61%), with a median age of 68 (interquartile range (IQR) = 22) years. Of all the patients, four (13.3%) reported a long-term use of NSAIDs, while only one (3.2%) reported the use of NSAIDs in 1 week before the hospitalization. The postintervention score (median = 3; IQR = 2) was shown to be significantly higher than the preintervention score (median = 1; IQR = 2; P = < 0.001). Additionally, the majority of the patients (86.7%) found the education programme was useful to avoid unnecessary NSAID use in the future. Conclusions Our findings suggest that the pharmacist-initiated education programme is useful and could be used as a long-term strategy to improve the knowledge about the safety of NSAID use in heart failure patients.