A personalized online psychological intervention for patients with atrial fibrillation was highly acceptable, demonstrating a 7% drop-out rate and full adherence among completers.
Does a personalized online psychological intervention demonstrate feasibility and improve mental health in patients with atrial fibrillation?
An online personalized psychological intervention is feasible and acceptable for patients with atrial fibrillation, supporting the development of a future randomized controlled trial.
AIM: The overall aim of this study was to examine the feasibility of a personalized online psychological intervention targeting prevention of depression in patients with atrial fibrillation. Specific objectives were to assess acceptability and adherence to the intervention and explore limited efficacy on patient-reported outcomes. METHODS AND RESULTS: We used a mixed-methods design containing descriptive statistics and ten semi-structured interviews. Participants consisted of 13 women and 15 men and had a mean age of 62 years (range: 26-86). Regarding acceptability, the primary outcome was drop-out, and we found a drop-out rate of 7% among the participating patients (2/28). Completed patients were fully adherent to their personalized planned intervention. For patient-reported outcomes, all mean measures on mental health and health-related quality of life were improved post-intervention. This included depression as measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. From thematic analysis on the interviews, we generated four themes consisting of: Meaningful content; Communication; Technicalities; and Personal gain. Overall, patients perceived their personalized intervention relevant for their individual situation, they felt engaged in planning of their intervention and that online treatment allowed a high level of autonomy. Patients felt empowered and experienced that the acquired psychological tools were useful in everyday life with atrial fibrillation. CONCLUSION: This feasibility study demonstrated a low drop-out rate and high adherence to the intervention. Completion of intervention was associated with potentially improved mental health. The findings support a future randomized controlled trial to evaluate clinical and cost effectiveness of the intervention.
Helmark et al. (Fri,) conducted a other in atrial fibrillation (n=28). personalized online psychological intervention was evaluated on drop-out. A personalized online psychological intervention for patients with atrial fibrillation was highly acceptable, demonstrating a 7% drop-out rate and full adherence among completers.