Australia's health care reform agenda: implications for the nurses' role in chronic heart failure management.
BACKGROUND
The importance of the nursing role in chronic heart failure (CHF) management is increasingly recognised. With the recent release of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission (NHHRC) report in Australia, a review of nursing roles in CHF management is timely and appropriate.


OBJECTIVE
This paper aims to discuss the implications of the NHHRC report and nursing roles in the context of CHF management in Australia.


METHODS
The electronic databases, Thomson Rheuters Web of Knowledge, Scopus and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), were searched using keywords including; "heart failure", "management", "Australia" and "nursing". In addition policy documents were reviewed including statements and reports from key professional organisations and Government Departments to identify issues impacting on nursing roles in CHF management.


RESULTS
There is a growing need for the prevention and control of chronic conditions, such as CHF. This involves an increasing emphasis on specialist cardiovascular nurses in community based settings, both in outreach and inreach health service models. This review has highlighted the need to base nursing roles on evidence based principles and identify the importance of the nursing role in coordinating and managing CHF care in both independent and collaborative practice settings.


CONCLUSIONS
The importance of the nursing role in early chronic disease symptom recognition and implementing strategies to prevent further deterioration of individuals is crucial to improving health outcomes. Consideration should be given to ensure that evidence based principles are adopted in models of nursing care.
The University of Western Sydney, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Sydney, Australia. v.betihavas@curtin.edu.au
Vasiliki
V
Betihavas
Phillip J
PJ
Newton
Hui Yun
HY
Du
Peter S
PS
Macdonald
Steven A
SA
Frost
Simon
S
Stewart
Patricia M
PM
Davidson
D001315:Australia; D002908:Chronic Disease; D017281:Cost of Illness; D019468:Disease Management; D018166:Health Care Reform / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006293:Health Promotion; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000458:organization & administration; D006302:Health Services Research; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000451:nursing / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D024802:Nurse's Role; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D012648:Self Care