title: Relationship of heart failure patients' knowledge, perceived barriers, and attitudes regarding low-sodium diet recommendations to adherence.
abstract: The purposes of this study were to describe heart failure patient perceptions regarding instructions received for following a low-sodium diet and the benefits, barriers, and ease and frequency of following the diet. A total of 246 patients with heart failure referred from academic medical centers in the United States and Australia participated in the study. A subset of 145 patients provided 24-hour urine samples for sodium excretion assessment. While most (80%) patients reported receiving recommendations to follow a low-sodium diet, their recall of specific instructions was poor. Although the majority (75%) reported following a low-sodium diet most or all of the time, 24-hour urine sodium excretion indicated that only 25% of patients were adherent. Patients who reported being more adherent, however, had lower urine sodium excretion levels. Attitudes regarding difficulty in and perceived benefits of following the diet were not related to sodium excretion. Data on attitudes and barriers provided guidance for strategies to improve adherence.
authors.affiliation: University of Kentucky, College of Nursing, Lexington, KY 40536-0232, USA. tlennie@uky.edu
authors.forename: Terry A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Lennie
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Worrall-Carter
authors.forename: Muna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hammash
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Odom-Forren
authors.forename: Lynn P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Roser
authors.forename: Carol S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Trupp
authors.forename: Misook L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Debra K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Moser
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004039:Diet, Sodium-Restricted / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000523:psychology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000523:psychology* / Q000652:urine; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D012964:Sodium / Q000652:urine; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D012964:Sodium