Heart failure and palliative care: training needs assessment to guide priority learning of multiprofessionals working across different care settings

Care needs, social support and meaning in life in patients after acute heart failure hospitalisation: a longitudinal study

BACKGROUND

Meaning in life serves as a protective mechanism for coping with persistent, often distressful symptoms in patients with heart failure. However, meaning in life and its associated factors are not adequately explored in patients after acute hospitalisation for heart failure.

AIMS

To explore the associated factors of meaning in life in patients with heart failure from acute hospitalisation to 3 months post-discharge.

METHODS

A total of 103 hospitalised patients with heart failure in Northern Taiwan were recruited using a longitudinal study design and interviewed with structured questionnaires including meaning in life, symptom distress, care needs, and social support at hospitalisation, 1 month and 3 months post-discharge.

RESULTS

A total of 83 patients completed the 3 months follow-up. The presence of meaning in life significantly increased from hospitalisation to 3 months post-discharge. Decreases in care needs (B=-0.10, P=0.020) and social support (B=-0.18, P=0.016) from hospitalisation to 3 months post-discharge were significantly associated with an increase in the presence of meaning in life, while a decrease in social support was associated with an increase in the search for meaning in life (B=-0.17, P=0.034).

CONCLUSION

Care needs and social support were pivotal factors for developing meaning in life for patients with heart failure. Assessments of care needs and social support might help strengthen their meaning in life.

Development of a Home Health-Based Palliative Care Program for Patients With Heart Failure

Heart failure is a significant burden to the healthcare system. Approximately 5.7 million adults in the United States were diagnosed with heart failure between 2009 and 2012 (). The American Heart Association projects that direct costs for heart failure may be as high as $77.7 billion by 2030 (). Technological and pharmaceutical advancements have delayed the progression of the disease; however, it is predicted that close to half of individuals with heart failure will die within 5 years of the initial diagnosis (; ). Current research suggests that the utilization of palliative care and an interdisciplinary team approach to the care of patients with heart failure improves the quality of life and decreases utilization of healthcare resources at the end of life (). This performance improvement project examined the knowledge of a home healthcare interdisciplinary team's knowledge about palliative care in patients with heart failure, the 30-day readmission rate for patients enrolled in a home-based palliative care program, and documentation of advanced directives in a home healthcare organization.