Significance of education and self-management support for patients with chronic heart failure in family physician practice

Background. Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a disease that requires self-management by the patient, thus it is understood that when they are diagnosed, they need access to relevant information about their disease.

Objectives. The purpose of this paper was to ascertain the sources and content of education for patients with CHF and evaluate the use of patient education for self-management support of patients with CHF in primary care.

Material and methods. Patients were identified from a patient registry and physician referrals. 371 individuals responded to the questionnaire, and we estimated the effectiveness of patient education.

Results. Whilst 91% of patients reported receiving education at the time of diagnosis, it is a concern that 9% say they were not provided information. Only a few patients said they had received education from hospital consultants. After the training, the percentage of patients who kept a diary of introspection increased almost three-fold, the percentage of patients measuring blood pressure and heart rate increased four-fold and measuring body mass increased six-fold.

Conclusions. CHF education was mainly delivered in primary care by family physicians. While there have been a growing number of efficacious interventions for patients with CHF, their effectiveness will be limited without self-management suport to assist patients in adopting behaviors that contribute to improved health.