Evaluación de la intervención educativa al paciente anciano con insuficiencia cardíaca, realizada por enfermería a través de un plan de cuidados estandarizado

Home-based nursing interventions improve knowledge of disease and management in patients with heart failure

OBJECTIVE

to assess patient knowledge of heart failure by home-based measurement of two NOC Nursing Outcomes over a six-month period and correlate mean outcome indicator scores with mean scores of a heart failure Knowledge Questionnaire.

METHODS

in this before-and-after study, patients with heart failure received four home visits over a six-month period after hospital discharge. At each home visit, nursing interventions were implemented, NOC outcomes were assessed, and the Knowledge Questionnaire was administered.

RESULTS

overall, 23 patients received home visits. Mean indicator scores for the outcome Knowledge: Medication were 2.27±0.14 at home visit 1 and 3.55±0.16 at home visit 4 (P<0.001); and, for the outcome Knowledge: Treatment Regimen, 2.33±0.13 at home visit 1 and 3.59±0.14 at home visit 4 (P<0.001). The correlation between the Knowledge Questionnaire and the Nursing Outcomes Classification scores was strong at home visit 1 (r=0.7, P<0.01), but weak and non significant at visit 4.

CONCLUSION

the results show improved patient knowledge of heart failure and a strong correlation between Nursing Outcomes Classification indicator scores and Knowledge Questionnaire scores. The NOC Nursing Outcomes proved effective as knowledge assessment measures when compared with the validated instrument.

[The heart failure patient: a case report]

Given its prevalence, high mortality rate, morbidity, chronicity and use of resources, heart failure (HF) is a priority issue from a social and health standpoint, due to the ageing population and to lack of adherence to and the complexity of treatment. For these reasons, an individualized care plan needs to be established to meet the real and potential needs of the patient diagnosed with HF. A clinical case is presented of a patient admitted to the Cardiology Critical Care (CCC) unit of a tertiary hospital. A patient care plan was prepared following the steps of the scientific method and relying on the NANDA taxonomy, and the NOC and NIC to design goals and nursing interventions, respectively.

Effect of self - care education on quality of life in patients with primary hypertension: comparing lecture and educational package

Background:

Hypertension is a dangerous risk factor for public health. It profoundly affects the patients’ quality of life. However, there is lack of agreement on the best method for self-care management in patients with hypertension.

Objectives:

This study was conducted to compare the effect of lecture and educational pamphlets on quality of life (QOL) in patients with primary hypertension.

Patients and Methods:

A quasi-experimental study was performed on 90 patients with chronic primary hypertension referred to two outpatient clinics in Kashan city. Patients were randomly divided into three groups including lecture group, educational package group, and control group. The participants’ quality of life was measured using the SF-36 questionnaire at the beginning of the study, and two months later. Data was analyzed using ANOVA and Chi-Square tests.

Results:

No significant differences were observed between the three groups for demographics characteristics and QOL before the intervention except for marital status. Mean scores of QOL dimensions of the intervention groups were increased at the end of the study, except for the dimension of bodily pain. Tukey post-Hoc test showed that except for general health, the two intervention groups were not significantly different in other dimensions, and significant differences were observed between the control group and the two intervention groups (P < 0.05). At start and the end of the study, the mean differences in the general health dimension in three groups were 2.25 ± 0.1, 0.07 ± 0.01, and -1.70 ± 0.01 respectively. There were significant differences among groups (P = 0.04).

Conclusions:

Lecture and educational package can both improve some dimensions of the QOL in patients with hypertension. However, as pamphlets are cheap and easy to use, this method may be used as an effective method for self-care education in health care settings in Iran, where the system is faced with nursing shortage.