The knowledge of patients with heart failure in the homecare context: an experimental study

ABSTRACT

Aim: To assess the knowledge about the disease and their self-care of patients with heart failure (IC) before and after monitoring nursing care at home. Methods: A before and after experimental study was performed with patients who were hospitalized for IC decompensation. Two home visits (VD) were undertaken after hospital discharge by specialist nurses at an interval of 30 days. 14 question quiz testing knowledge of heart disease and self-care, validated for use in Brazil, was used. The educational intervention was based on guidelines about IC. It was considered that an appropriate level of knowledge existed in those patients who had at least 70% correct on the quiz. Results: 41 patients were included, 21 (51.2%) of whom were men. The whole group had an average age of 64 ± 13.7 years. The correct answer scores were 64% in VD1 and 70.9% in VD2 (P = 0.020). Discussion: Nursing interventions benefit patients by improving their knowledge. Conclusion: There was a significant improvement in terms of knowledge of heart disease and self-care after the homecare interventions.