Authors:

G Lopez Moyano¹ , M Duran Torralba¹ , C Rus Mansilla¹ , G Cortez Quiroga¹ , M Santisteban Sanchez De Puerta¹ , M Delgado Moreno¹ , Y Rustarazo Garcia¹ , ¹Hospital Alto Guadalquivir, Cardiology - Andujar - Spain ,

Citation:

Introduction: The education for health developed by nursing in the Heart Failure Unit( HFU) is decesive to promote self-care and improve the quality of life.
Aims: Analyze  the impact of nurse education through how it is modified European Heart Failure Self-care Behaviour (EHFS) scale during the year of inclusion in the HFU and in which areas self-care has more impact.
Methods: Descriptive, prospective, longitudinal study that included 93 consecutive patients assessed in the HFU from 2014 to 2017. Self-care was analyzed through EHFS and how this scale varied throughout the year of inclusion. Several NOCS were analyzed: weight control, Blood pressure (BP) control, diet control, exercise, and quality of rest by liker scale and compared at 6 and 12 months. All patients received personalized education and also group this last in the first 6 months

Results: the average age of the patients was 67 ± 12 years, 70% males. The EHFS at the beginning of the program was 42.7 ± 1.8, at 6 months 22.7 ± 1.3 and at 12 months 23.5 ± 1.6, being statistically significant the difference found in the baseline and the 6 months. Basically, adequate weight control was performed by 14% of the patients, BP control by 17%, appropriate diet by 24%, physical exercise by 20%, and up to 75% communicated good quality rest. At 6 months up to 80% of patients performed adequate weight control, 86% adequately BP control, 52% fulfilled a low sodium diet, 57% performed moderate physical exercise and up to 84% showed adequate rest quality. After 12 months, 62% of the patients had adequate weight control, 73% had BP control, only 48% had an appropriate diet, 66% continued with moderate physical exercise and 89% showed good quality of rest.
Conclusion: The health education provided by nursing at the HFU is very effective in the first 6 months assessed through the EHFS. Although diet and physical exercise are the factors where it is more difficult to have a positive impact, it is more lasting in time when it is achieved. Weight control and BP control are easy habits to acquire but the patient, after the first 6 months, usually abandons them early. Group education can have a positive impact because of the "group effect".