Uncertainty in Patients Newly Diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation

Kang, Younhee

Abstract

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained cardiac rhythm disturbance encountered in clinical practice. In contrast to its high prevalence and the associated high number of hospital admissions, there is a paucity of published studies that have evaluated the perspective of patients with atrial fibrillation or patients' perceptions or responses to diagnosis, treatment, or prognosis of atrial fibrillation in health care literature and clinical studies. This study aimed to explore uncertainty in diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of atrial fibrillation.
METHODS
This study employed a descriptive cross-sectional survey design using a face-to-face interview method to explore uncertainty. Patients with atrial fibrillation confirmed by 12-lead ECG were interviewed. Uncertainty was measured by the Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale-Community Form (MUIS-C), and the data collected were analyzed by the Statistical Package for Social Science software program.
RESULTS
A total of 81 subjects were included in this study and their mean score of uncertainty was 62.60 with the standard deviation of 10.81. Uncertainty in patients with atrial fibrillation was higher than that reported in other disease populations such as bowel resection surgery, breast cancer, myocardial infarction, and so forth. However, it was lower than the level of uncertainty in patients with cardiac arrest and HIV disease.
CONCLUSION
From the findings of the present study, it was demonstrated that uncertainty existed in patients with atrial fibrillation, and this was considered to be part of patients' responses to atrial fibrillation. In terms of nursing practice and nursing research, uncertainty was explored and described as one of the most relevant phenomena in patients newly diagnosed with atrial fibrillation.