Adolescents With Congenital Heart Disease: What Do They Know About Reproductive Health and Risks?
Åsa Burström, Mariela Acuña Mora, Carina Sparud-Lundin and 2 others
PMID 34238841WHAT IT FOUND
Only 5% of adolescents with congenital heart disease recalled receiving contraceptive advice, 15% of female participants recalled receiving pregnancy advice, and 11% knew the risk of having a child with the condition.
Nurses may need to raise this.
Key findings
01Only 7 adolescents (5%) had received information about contraceptives, and 13 female participants (15%) had received information about pregnancy.
02Knowledge about reproductive health was uneven: 68% knew why they were born with CHD, 48% knew heredity, 70% knew sexual activity could worsen CHD, and 11% knew the elevated risk of having a child with CHD.
03Male participants had higher odds of wanting contraceptive information (OR 4.8; 95% CI 1.6-14.2; P = .004), and older adolescents had higher odds of knowing the elevated risk of having a child with CHD (OR 2.2; 95% CI 1.2-3.9; P = .007).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 202 of 593 eligible adolescents participated (34%), so the results may not represent all teenagers with congenital heart disease in these centers. The knowledge scale was developed for adults, although the team modified it and checked it with adolescents. Responses were classified by main diagnosis and comorbidities were not considered. Some items were answered by fewer participants than others, which may reflect difficulty answering sensitive questions. This was a cross-sectional survey, so it cannot show whether counseling would improve knowledge or whether lack of information caused the knowledge gaps.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation, Forte-Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life, and Welfare, and The Child Welfare Society in Stockholm. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that adolescents with congenital heart disease are uninterested in reproductive health counseling. Only 24% of those who had not received contraceptive information wanted it, but only 34% of eligible adolescents responded and the topic may be sensitive; the study did not test counseling.