The quality of long-term counselling for percutaneous coronary intervention patients: A cross-sectional study

Aim: To compare the long--term counselling quality among the patients visited and not visited at cardiac nurse after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and related factors one to two years after PCI. Design: An explorative, register--based cross--sectional study. Methodology methods: A sample was drawn from the one university hospital's procedure register consisted of the patients undergone a PCI (n = 977). The data was collected by Counselling Quality Instrument (CQI) questionnaire by mail, and analysed by basic and multivariate methods. Findings results: Of the respondents (n = 459), less than half the patients (48.4%) visited at cardiac nurse one to two years after PCI as instructed in the national current care guidelines. Patients, who visited the nurse (n = 194) had higher satisfaction for counselling than the ones not visited (n = 70). Nevertheless, patients, especially those who had no dyslipidemia, had Unstable Angina Pectoris or Non-ST- elevated myocardial infarction or were out of the workforce, were unsatisfied with counselling, and needed more social support, patient--centred counselling and goal orientating implementation from the cardiac nurse. A half of the PCI patients (51.6%) did not visit the cardiac nurse at the primary health care. Patient or public contribution: Cardiac nurses assisted the members of research group by assessing the questionnaire prior sending it to the patients and patients contributed by completing the questionnaires. We thank both parties for their contribution. Implication for profession and patient care: This study demonstrated, that patients out of the workforce and having emergency PCI are in need for better quality counselling, concentrating on social support, patient--centred counselling and goal orientating implementation from the cardiac nurse. Those patients, who did not visit the cardiac nurse, should be offered easier access to cardiac nurse for example, by novel digital solutions.