Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of participants at enrollment.
| Variable | All participants (N=196) | Experimental group (n=103) | Control group (n=93) | P value | |
| Gender, n (%) |
|
|
|
.86 | |
|
|
Male | 157 (80.1) | 83 (80.6) | 74 (79.6) |
|
|
|
Female | 39 (19.9) | 20 (19.4) | 19 (20.4) |
|
| Age (years), mean (SD) | 61 (11) | 61 (11) | 62 (11) | .48 | |
| Height (cm), mean (SD) | 164.8 (8.0) | 165.5 (8.0) | 164.1 (8.0) | .23 | |
| Weight (kg), mean (SD) | 67.6 (11.3) | 68.2 (11.9) | 66.9 (10.5) | .45 | |
| Ethnicity, n (%) |
|
|
|
.98a | |
|
|
Han | 184 (93.9) | 96 (93.2) | 88 (94.6) |
|
|
|
Zang | 6 (3.1) | 3 (2.9) | 3 (3.2) |
|
|
|
Yi | 1 (0.5) | 1 (1.0) | 0 (0) |
|
|
|
Hui | 1 (0.5) | 0 (0) | 1 (1.1) |
|
|
|
Mongolian | 1 (0.5) | 1 (1.0) | 0 (0) |
|
|
|
Other ethnic minorities | 3 (1.5) | 2 (1.9) | 1 (1.1) |
|
| Marital status, n (%) |
|
|
|
.25 | |
|
|
Married | 181 (92.4) | 93 (90.3) | 88 (94.6) |
|
|
|
Widowed, separated, divorced, or single | 15 (7.6) | 10 (9.7) | 5 (5.4) |
|
| Job status, n (%) |
|
|
|
.31a | |
|
|
Employed | 65 (34.0) | 39 (39.0) | 26 (28.6) |
|
|
|
Unemployed | 4 (2.1) | 3 (3.0) | 1 (1.1) |
|
|
|
Farmer | 19 (10.0) | 8 (8.0) | 11 (12.1) |
|
|
|
Retired | 103 (53.9) | 50 (50.0) | 53 (58.2) |
|
| Education, n (%) |
|
|
|
.36 | |
|
|
Primary school or lower | 31 (16.1) | 16 (15.8) | 15 (16.3) |
|
|
|
Middle school | 43 (22.3) | 27 (26.7) | 16 (17.4) |
|
|
|
High school | 47 (24.3) | 26 (25.7) | 21 (22.8) |
|
|
|
Noncollege postsecondary | 28 (14.5) | 11 (10.9) | 17 (18.5) |
|
|
|
College or above | 44 (22.8) | 21 (20.8) | 23 (25.0) |
|
| Number of prescribed medications, n (%) | .82a | ||||
|
|
<5 | 75 (38.3) | 41 (39.8) | 34 (36.6) |
|
|
|
5-9 | 116 (59.2) | 59 (57.3) | 57 (61.3) |
|
|
|
≥10 | 5 (2.5) | 3 (2.9) | 2 (2.1) |
|
| Covered by medical insurance | 186 (96.9) | 97 (96.0) | 89 (97.8) | .69a | |
| Medication coverage as part of medical insurance, n (%) | .90b | ||||
|
|
Complete coverage | 41 (27.9) | 22 (30.1) | 19 (25.7) |
|
|
|
Some coverage | 89 (60.5) | 40 (54.8) | 49 (66.2) |
|
|
|
No coverage | 17 (11.6) | 11 (15.1) | 6 (8.1) |
|
| Place of residence, n (%) |
|
|
|
.82 | |
|
|
Urban | 161 (82.1) | 84 (81.6) | 77 (82.8) |
|
|
|
Rural | 35 (17.9) | 19 (18.4) | 16 (17.2) |
|
| Living arrangements, n (%) |
|
|
|
.36 | |
|
|
Living alone | 14 (7.1) | 9 (8.7) | 5 (5.4) |
|
|
|
Living with family or relatives | 182 (92.9) | 94 (91.3) | 88 (94.6) |
|
| Length of using WeChat, n (%) | .78 | ||||
|
|
<1 year | 24 (12.0) | 11 (10.7) | 13 (14.0) |
|
|
|
1-4 years | 109 (56.0) | 58 (56.3) | 51 (54.8) |
|
|
|
≥5 years | 63 (32.0) | 34 (33.0) | 29 (31.2) |
|
| Frequency of WeChat use before participating in the study, n (%) | .44 | ||||
|
|
Daily | 152 (80.9) | 83 (83.8) | 69 (77.5) |
|
|
|
Occasionally | 25 (13.3) | 12 (12.1) | 13 (14.6) |
|
|
|
Never | 11 (5.8) | 4 (4.0) | 7 (7.9) |
|
| Annual family income (CNY¥), n (%) | .12b | ||||
|
|
<¥54,000 | 81 (52.3) | 48 (59.3) | 33 (44.6) |
|
|
|
¥54,001-¥90,000 | 34 (21.9) | 13 (16.1) | 21 (28.4) |
|
|
|
¥90,001-¥120,000 | 18 (11.6) | 11 (13.6) | 7 (9.5) |
|
|
|
>¥120,000 | 22 (14.2) | 9 (11.1) | 13 (17.6) |
|
| General health status, n (%) |
|
|
|
.89 | |
|
|
Good | 70 (35.7) | 37 (35.9) | 33 (35.5) |
|
|
|
Fair | 101 (51.5) | 54 (52.4) | 47 (50.5) |
|
|
|
Bad | 25 (12.8) | 12 (11.7) | 13 (14.0) |
|
aThe Fisher exact test was used due to small values in cells.
bThe Mann-Whitney U test was used due to missing data: 25% of participants did not know whether their prescribed medications would be covered by their medical insurance at the time of discharge; and 21% of participants refused to disclose their family income.