Bridging the knowledge gap: assessing heart failure awareness and educational needs among clinical physicians

INTRODUCTION: Heart failure (HF) is a life-threatening disease that affects approximately 26 million people worldwide. Meanwhile, due to the increasing rate of hypertension, diabetes, and ischemic heart diseases as heart failure’s major risk factors, the incidence of HF is accordingly rising. We designed this multicenter Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) study to assess the existing gaps in various aspects of HF management in our country. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We developed a questionnaire with 32 items. Firstly, we gathered a multidisciplinary team to conduct a literature review and an existing questionnaire review to generate items. Our questionnaire was developed concerning major heart failure aspects and consisted of 5 categories. Our target population was medical doctors such as general practitioners (GPs), cardiology and internal medicine residents (Rs), cardiologists, and cardiology subspecialists (Cs). RESULTS: Our study group consisted of 61.5% females and 38.5% males, with a total mean age of 36.16 ± 11.27 years. We had an overall complete response rate of 76.6% (92 out of 120 distributed questionnaires), of which 27 (29.4%) were cardiology specialists and subspecialists, 21 (22.8%) were cardiology residents and internists, and 44 (47.8%) were general practitioners. The mean score of the total study population’s correct responses was 68% (21.76 of 32), while the mean score of correct responses was 62% (20.02/32) in GPs, 72% (23.29/32) in Rs, and 73% (23.41/32) in Cs. CONCLUSION: Our results show suboptimal knowledge for diagnosing and managing heart failure, especially among general practitioners and internists. This highlights the importance of more extensive educational programs focusing on heart failure.