POS1476-HPR THE NEED FOR INFORMATION AMONG PATIENTS WITH ANCA ASSOCIATED VASCULITIS DIFFERS BETWEEN GROUPS
Authors: S. Brolin, B. Lövström, E. Welin, I. Gunnarsson, S. Pettersson
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2021)

Background: Being diagnosed with ANCA associated vasculitis (AAV) can be a frightening experience and means facing changes that involves adapting to new situations1. Patients that are provided adequate information are better equipped to make well informed decisions regarding their care and stay compliant to the treatment plan. In order to provide adequate patient-centered information at the appropriate time and to identify those who may need extra support, the information needs must be explored2. There have been several studies on the information needs of rheumatological patients, although very few studies for patients with AAV. Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore what information patients with AAV need from their rheumatological team and how it differs between groups (gender, disease duration). Methods: Men and women over 18 years were included through a consecutive sample from a Rheumatology or Nephrology Clinic at Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden during 2008-2019. Patients with all forms of AAV (GPA, MPA and EGPA), that had the Rheumatology clinic as primary contact, were included. The participants were given Educational Needs Assessment Tool (ENAT) that measures the patient’s information needs3. The initial question, ‘Do you need information right now about something that can help you with your rheumatic disease?’ is answered yes/no. ENAT then includes 7 domains (Managing pain, Movement, Feelings, Disease process, Treatments, Self-help measures and Support systems) each containing 4-7 items (4-point Likert scale, ’not at all important = 0’ to ‘extremely important = 3’). The total sum is divided by the maximum score and gives the percentage response of maximum score (0-100%), 0% meaning no information need and 100% highest information need. The responses are presented as “mean % of the domain score”. Independent-sample t-test was used to compare the mean between groups. One way ANOVA was used to compare the mean domain score between the different diagnoses and age groups. Results: 178 individuals completed the questionnaire, equally divided by gender. Age ranged from 18-85, median 61. 33,7% had been diagnosed within 2 years. The mean total score was 56,8 % of the highest possible score (0-100%). The highest information need was found in the domains ‘Disease process’ (78,1%), ‘Self-help measures’ (68,5%) and ‘Treatments’ (63,6%) whereas lesser need for information was found in the domains ‘Managing pain’ (47,5%), ‘Support systems’ (46,5%) and ‘Movement’ (41,1%). The domain ‘Feelings’ was scored as moderate (55,5%). Those who acknowledge a present information need also scored significantly higher overall in all the domains. Disease duration and gender showed significantly affect the information need. Highest scores were found among women with a disease duration &lt; 2 years with significant difference in 3/7 domains. Age, disease activity, diagnosis and social status did not affect the ENAT scores. Conclusion: Even though only 38% of participants stated a current need for information, the results indicate that there are certain areas that patients with AAV consider important to receive more information about. Special consideration needs to be taken to women with short disease duration since they were shown to have a significantly higher need for information. References: [1]Mooney, J., et al. (2013). ‘In one ear and out the other - it’s a lot to take in’: a qualitative study exploring the informational needs of patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis. Musculoskeletal Care, 11(1) [2]Ntatsaki, E., et al. (2014). BSR and BHPR guideline for the management of adults with ANCA-associated vasculitis. Rheumatology (Oxford), 53(12) [3]Hardware, B., et al. (2004). Towards the development of a tool to assess educational needs in patients with arthritis. Clinical Effectiveness in Nursing, 8(2) Disclosure of Interests: None declared