Enhancing patient self care and management of atrial fibrillation within primary care

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common heart problem causing an irregular pulse. Individuals who poorly managed their AF risk developing serious problems like stroke and heart failure. Self-care, is when individuals actively maintain health through health-promoting practices, health monitoring, and managing illness. Family doctors and nurse practitioners (primary care providers) provide most of the AF care in BC, and yet are often not able to support their patients’ self-care because of limited time and other more urgent problems. They need new ways to address AF self-care. Teaching patients to self-care for their AF can improve their quality of life, reduce their stress, increase their ability to stay on track with their treatment plan (taking mediations), and can prevent serious problems. This research will study ways to improve self-care practices in primary care by bringing together a group of doctors, nurses, patients and researchers to look at what we already know about AF self-care in the literature and what resources exist in BC to support self-care. Second, they will put together all this information and then have a meeting to identify some of the possible solutions to address AF self-care in practice and research.

Team members: Louann Janicki (Interior Health); Ryan Wilson (UBC Okanagan); Peter Loewen (UBC); Nelly Oelke (UBC Okanagan); Norma Hilsmann (UBC Okanagan); Jessica Baskerville (South Okanagan Similkameen Division of Family Practice); Kim Orwaard-Wong (Interior Health); Kristi Maltby (Interior Health); Cameron Towle (Interior Health); Robert Janke (UBC Okanagan); Ryan Tooby (Divisions of Family Practice – Bella Coola); Tannis Andersen (Interior Health); Pam Hruska (Interior Health); Kaylee Neill (UBC Okanagan); Denis Decleva (AF Patient); Beth Whalley (Central Okanagan Divisions of Family Practice)