Effects of an educational intervention on heart failure knowledge, self-care behaviors, and health-related quality of life of patients with heart failure: Exploring the role of depression.
Boyoung Hwang, Michele M Pelter, Debra K Moser and 1 others
PMID 31964579WHAT IT FOUND
Nurse-led education improved heart failure knowledge and self-care for two years, but only in patients without depression.
Quality of life improved in all groups, including those receiving usual care, so the specific intervention did not add benefit there.
Key findings
01Both intervention groups showed significantly better self-care behaviors than the usual care group at 3 and 12 months, but this difference was no longer significant at 24 months.
02The intervention improved heart failure knowledge and self-care significantly in patients without depression, but had no significant effect on these outcomes in patients with depression.
03There was no significant difference in health-related quality of life between the intervention and usual care groups at any time point, as all groups improved similarly.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was conducted in rural areas with limited resources, so results may not generalize to urban settings with different access to care. The lack of significant intervention effects in the depressed subgroup could be due to insufficient statistical power rather than a true absence of effect. The control group received educational materials and healthcare logs, which may have acted as an intervention itself, potentially diluting the observed differences in quality of life.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that nurse-led educational interventions will improve health-related quality of life or self-care in patients with heart failure who also have depression. The study found no significant benefit for these patients, and quality of life improved equally in the usual care group.