Healthcare practitioners and researchers need internationally validated measurement tools to compare outcomes of interventions in clinical management and research tools in oral anticoagulation therapy.

This is a descriptive cross-sectional study, which aimed to analyze the health related quality of life (HRQoL) and its relationship with gender, age, duration and indication for the use of oral anticoagulants. A total of 178 patients were interviewed and the HRQoL was assessed through eight domains of the SF-36. The descriptive statistics used were, the Student's t, ANOVA and Tukey's tests for the comparison of the means between the groups. The indication for use was predominantly the metallic prosthetic heart valve (50%) with warfarin the most widely prescribed anticoagulant (83.3%). Calidad de vida relacionada a la salud de pacientes que usan anticoagulación oralSe trata de un estudio descriptivo, de tipo corte transversal, que tuvo como objetivo analizar la calidad de vida relacionada a la salud (CVRS) y su relación con sexo, edad, tiempo e indicación de uso de anticoagulantes orales. Fueron entrevistados 178 pacientes y la CVRS fue evaluada por los ocho dominios del SF-36. Fue utilizada estadística descriptiva, las pruebas: t Student, ANOVA y Tukey, para comparación de los promedios entre los grupos. La indicación para el uso fue predominantemente la prótesis cardíaca metálica (50%) y la warfarina el anticoagulante más prescrito (83,3%).Los promedios de los dominios del SF-36 variaron de 82 (Aspectos sociales) a 54,8 (Aspectos físicos). Mujeres, ancianos, y pacientes con diagnóstico de fibrilación atrial y con menos de un año de uso del medicamento, presentaron peor evaluación de la CVRS.Los resultados obtenidos pueden orientar acciones de enfermería, en la medida en que indican posibles asociaciones entre la CVRS y las variables sociodemográficas y clínicas de los pacientes.

This methodological study adapted and analyzed the psychometric properties of the IntroductionAdherence can be defined as the level of agreement between the recommendations of the healthcare provider and the individual's behavior in relation to the therapeutic regimen (1) . There are several factors influencing nonadherence to the pharmacological treatment, such as: factors related to the patient, disease, treatment, health services and social support (2) . Brazilian research on the subject related to medication adherence is common among individuals using antiretroviral, anti-hypertensive and anti-diabetic (hypoglycemic) medications, however, it is incipient among individuals using oral anticoagulant therapy (OAT). Adherence to OAT is one of the important factors in achieving an optimum level of anticoagulation in order to avoid bleeding and thromboembolic complications among patients. Additionally, its misuseunder-dosing or overdosing -whether by forgetfulness or human error, can also pose risk to health, increasing the chances of bleeding or thromboembolic events, since the therapy goals are not being met (3) .Research addressing the management of OAT has indicated some factors that can affect the control of this therapy, such as: clinical factors (e.g. acute disease, drug interactions, changes in diet), genetic factors and psychosocial factors (e.g. depression, cognitive disorder and one's perceived health condition) (3) . There are practical and psychological requirements for OAT to be successful. These requirements may positively or negatively affect an individual's perception of health and quality of health (4) . 303 www.eerp.usp.br/rlae Carvalho ARS, Dantas RAS, Pelegrino FM, Corbi ISA.The potential effects of inadequate adherence to OAT and risk factors that influence treatment adherence among patients are known, however, these effects and the best methods to evaluate them have not been well elucidated (3) .One of the difficulties found by researchers in evaluating medication adherence is the lack of valid, reliable, user-friendly and low-cost instruments in Brazil and worldwide, which hinders the comparison of results of different therapies and between distinct health services.The best known and most used instrument for evaluating medication adherence is the MoriskiGreen questionnaire (5)(6) . Another proposed adherence instrument is the Measurement of Treatment Adherence (1) (MTA), which was elaborated and tested among Portuguese diabetics and hypertensive individuals (1) . It was already validated in Brazil among a population of diabetic individuals and obtained satisfactory results in the study signed a free and informed consent form.

Objective: to study the changes in health-related quality of life from beginning of anticoagulation therapy to six-month follow-up, and to study associations of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics with measures of quality of life and general health status at six-month followup, in individuals using oral anticoagulation due to various medical indications for the therapy. Anticoagulación oral: impacto de la terapia en la calidad de vida relacionada a la salud a lo largo de seis meses Objetivo: Estudiar los cambios en la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud desde el inicio de la anticoagulación oral y al final de seis meses de tratamiento, y estudiar las asociaciones de las características sociodemográficas y clínicas con las medidas de calidad de vida y salud general seis meses después de iniciar la terapia, en pacientes con diversas indicaciones clínicas de anticoagulación oral. Método: Se realizó un estudio prospectivo en una ciudad de Paraná, Brasil, evaluando 78 pacientes. Las herramientas aplicadas fueron la Duke Anticoagulation Satisfaction Scale y el Medical Outcomes Survey Short Form SF-36. Resultados: La edad promedia fue de 57 años (D.E.=16) y el 54% era mujer. En comparación con el inicio de la terapia, se observó una mejoría estadísticamente significativa en la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud tras seis meses de seguimiento. El análisis de regresión representó el 32% y 30%, respectivamente, de la varianza de la Duke Anticoagulation Satisfaction Scale y la salud general. Hubo una mejora en todos los componentes del SF-36, excepto la Salud Mental.Conclusión: El uso de anticoagulantes orales se asocia con una mejoría en la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud tras seis meses de seguimiento. Debido a su diseño longitudinal, este estudio trae menos limitaciones que los estudios transversales publicados en la Enfermería brasileña hasta ahora.