Education Program for Patients Receiving Oral Anticoagulation

The aim of the study is to test if patients under oral anticoagulation therapy who are going to participate in the education program will have better Health-related quality of life, higher rate in pharmacological treatment adherence and better self efficacy to manage the treatment.

Patients who are going to use oral anticoagulant will participate in an individual orientation, using instructional material (slides and illustrative booklet) during hospitalization period. After the discharge 2 phone calls will be done (after: a week and four weeks) focusing on the strategies to improve patient's self-efficacy to manage the oral anticoagulation. There will be a personal contact among researcher and participants when the patients return at the oral anticoagulant ambulatory, two months after the treatment start. At this time the following variables of interest will be evaluated: Health-related quality of life; adherence to treatment and patients' self-efficacy.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients admitted in two public hospitals, in São Paulo state interior and who are going to start the use of oral anticoagulant during this hospitalization
• Patients admitted in two public hospitals, in São Paulo state interior and who are going to adjust therapeutically oral anticoagulant dosage or to start over treatment.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Individuals who do not at all have any ability to understand the data collection instrument questions, measured by the instrument Mental State Mini-exam.
• Individuals who do not have a telephone to be contacted after hospital discharge;
• Individuals who are going to metallic valve prosthesis implant surgery in the last six months.