Abstract
Background
Heart failure is the most common cause of hospitalization for
adults over the age of 65 years. The World Health Organization
Report on therapeutic patient education recognizes the
importance of patient centered education in the effective
management of chronic diseases. It has been recognized that
adoption of self-management skills by persons with chronic
diseases is necessary to enable them to manage their condition.
This meta-analysis evaluates the effectiveness of the nurse-led
self-management interventions to improve self-care behaviors
among patients.
Methods
Relevant major electronic databases were searched from
inception to February 2014. All randomized controlled trials
(RCTs) that compared nurse led self-management education
with routine treatment were included in the systematic review.
For meta-analyses of continuous data, standardized mean
difference (SMD), along with 95% confidence interval (CI),
was calculated because the same underlying concept was
measured using different outcome measurements.
Results
Seven studies were included in the meta-analysis for a total of
942 participants, 493 (52.3%) of which were in the intervention
group. Four studies involving 406 participants assessed
the self-care abilities at 3 months (short term). The SMD was
0.64 (95%CI 0.19–1.10) in favor of the self-management
education intervention. Four studies with a total of 707
participants reported on self-care abilities at 6-9 months
(intermediate term) while the long-term effect of the
educational intervention was assessed by two studies, with
not statistically significant results in both cases (SMD 0.45;
95%CI -0.12–1.02 and SMD 0.06; 95%CI -0.15–0.26,
respectively).
Conclusions
Supportive nursing educational interventions improve the selfcare
behavior in patients with heart failure but only in the
short period. Educational interventions should be reconsidered
in a perspective of continuity of care. For this reason an
effective discharge planning is crucial to guarantee continuity
in an intermediate care framework.
Key message
Promoting self-care in chronic patients is necessary to
enable them to manage their condition.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 287-287 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Journal | European Journal of Public Health |
| Volume | 24 |
| Publication status | Published - 2014 |
| Event | 7th European Public Health Conference – “Mind the gap: Reducing inequalities in health and health care” - Glasgow Duration: 19 Nov 2014 → 22 Nov 2014 |
Keywords
- heart failure
- nurse-led interventions