Quality of life among patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm undergoing endografting in Taiwan

Background: The use of endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) as a treatment for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) has started to become popular in Taiwan. Quality of life is considered an indicator of clinical outcome, and self-management and health literacy have been identified as significant contributors to quality of life. However, the research on these three variables, and relationships among them in AAA patients who have undergone EVAR, is limited. Aims: The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between self-management, health literacy and quality of life in AAA patients who have undergone EVAR in Taiwan. Methods: This study uses a cross-sectional design with convenience sampling. A total of 105 patients were sampled in the outpatient clinic when they returned for a follow-up visit to a veterans' general hospital in Taiwan between May 2011 and June 2012. Four questionnaires (demographic, self-management, health literacy, quality of life) were used to collect data. Regarding the relationship among these variables, Pearson correlations and hierarchical logistic regression were used to analyze the relationship. Results: Self-management has a 73% mediation effect and an indirect effect of 13.51 on the relationship between health literacy and quality of life, while education and exercise habit has a 57% mediation effect and an indirect effect of 6.20 on this same relationship. Conclusion: These findings can be used to identify specific populations who have more risk for worse outcomes. They can then be provided with education to promote exercise behavior and to enhance self-management to achieve better quality of life..