Sense of Coherence and Quality of Life in Patients Treated with Antivitamin K Oral Anticoagulants: A Cross-Sectional Study

• Main Authors: Ana Anguas-Gracia, Ana Belén Subirón-Valera, Beatriz Rodríguez-Roca, Ángel Gasch-Gallén, Isabel Antón-Solanas, Fernando Urcola-Pardo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-02-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: quality of life; anticoagulants; primary healthcare; self-efficacy; sense of coherence
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/1668

The aim of this study was to analyze the correlation between the participants’ self-reported quality of life and their sense of coherence in a sample (<i>n </i>=<i> </i>85) of patients on treatment with oral antivitamin K anticoagulants. A cross-sectional design was used. The measurement instruments included a questionnaire on sociodemographic variables, the Spanish version of the Abbreviated World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF), an oral-anticoagulant-treatment-specific quality-of-life questionnaire, and the sense-of-coherence (SOC) scale. We analyzed the correlations between the participants’ characteristics and the results from the quality-of-life and SOC scales. Age, level of education, employment status, living arrangement, and treatment length were the determinants of the quality of life in people treated with oral anticoagulants. We found a significant association between the four domains of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire and general treatment satisfaction (<i>p </i><<i> </i>0.01); no significant correlations were found between the SOC subscales and the oral-anticoagulant-treatment-specific quality of life in our sample. Women had a worse level of self-management than men. Nursing interventions should be tailored to the needs of the populations on treatment with oral anticoagulants in order to facilitate a higher level of self-management.