Telephone follow-up of self-care behaviour after a single session education of patients with heart failure in primary health care.
BACKGROUND
Improved self-care behaviour is a goal in educational programmes for patients with heart failure, especially in regard to daily self-weighing and salt and fluid restriction.


OBJECTIVE
The objectives of the present study were to: (1) describe self-care with special regard to daily self-weighing and salt and fluid restriction in patients with heart failure in primary health care, during one year of monthly telephone follow-up after a single session education, (2) to describe gender differences in regard to self-care and (3) to investigate if self-care was associated with health-related quality of life.


METHODS
The present analysis is a subgroup analysis of a larger randomised trial. After one intensive educational session, a primary health care nurse evaluated 60 patients (mean age 79 years, 52% males, 60% in New York Heart Association class III-IV) by monthly telephone follow-up during 12 months.


RESULTS
The intervention had no effect on quality of life measured by EuroQol 5D and no significant associations were found between quality of life and self-care behaviour. Self-care behaviour measured by The European Self-care Behaviour Scale remained unchanged throughout the study period. No significant gender differences were shown but women had a tendency to improve adherence to daily weight control between 3- and 12 months.


CONCLUSIONS
The self-care behaviour and quality of life in patients with heart failure did not change during one year of monthly telephone follow-up after a single session education and this indicates a need for more extensive interventions to obtain improved self-care behaviour in these patients.
Holst
Marie
M
Malmö University School of Health and Society, Sweden. marie.holst@hs.mah.se
Willenheimer
Ronnie
R
Mårtensson
Jan
J
Lindholm
Maud
M
Strömberg
Anna
A
D000359:Aftercare / Q000458:organization & administration; D000368:Aged; D016251:CD-ROM; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015438:Health Behavior; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden; D013664:Teaching Materials; D013689:Telephone