Evaluation of Patients’ Knowledge on Warfarin Therapy Among Outpatients Receiving Warfarin at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

Evaluation of patient knowledge is the first step to improve the quality of anticoagulation therapy and patient care. This study assessed the level of patients’ knowledge on warfarin therapy among outpatients who were receiving warfarin in Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It was based on cross sectional study design in which 130 patients receiving warfarin were interviewed using oral anticoagulation knowledge (OAK) questionnaires composed of 20 multiple choice questions. Ethical approval was obtained from the School of Pharmacy Ethics Review Board before the data collection process began. Data were entered into computer using Epi Info version 3.5.3 and analyzed using SPSS version 16. Of 130 respondents, there was no one who gave correct answers to all questions. However, the highest responses were for the questions related to “the indication of warfarin and the need for routine laboratory test while on warfarin therapy”, where 125 (96.2%) of the respondents answered correctly. The majority of patients (76.9%) had moderate knowledge on warfarin therapy. The mean score of patients on correct response was 11.8 ± 2.5 (59.3% ± 12.8%). Among interviewed patients only 13.9% of them got passing scores. It was concluded that patients’ knowledge on warfarin therapy was minimal as evaluated by OAK questionnaires. Hence strategic patients’ education guideline should be developed to increase patients’ knowledge on oral anticoagulation.

Keywords: anticoagulation therapy, warfarin, patient knowledge on warfarin, oral anticoagulation knowledge questionnaires, Ethiopia