title: Home visit improves knowledge, self-care and adhesion in heart failure: Randomized Clinical Trial HELEN-I.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To verify the effect of an educative nursing intervention composed of home visits and phone calls on patients' knowledge about the disease, self-care and adhesion to the treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Randomized clinical trial with patients with recent hospitalization caused by decompensated heart failure. There were two groups: the intervention group, which has received four home visits and four phone calls to reinforce the guidelines during six months of follow up; and the control group, which has received conventional follow up with no visits or phone calls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred patients were randomized (101 in the intervention group and 99 in the control group). After six months, a significant improvement was observed in self-care and knowledge about the disease in the intervention group (P=0.001 and P<0.001), respectively; the adhesion to the treatment, measured and compared between the groups, was significantly higher in the intervention group (P=0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  the strategy of home visits to patients who were recently hospitalized with decompensated heart failure was effective in improving the outcomes assessed and its implementation deserves to be considered in Brazil aiming at avoiding unplanned hospitalizations. NCT-01213862.
authors: Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors: Cláudia Motta
authors: CM
authors: Mussi
authors: Karen
authors: K
authors: Ruschel
authors: Emiliane Nogueira
authors: EN
authors: de Souza
authors: Alexandra Nogueira Mello
authors: AN
authors: Lopes
authors: Melina Maria
authors: MM
authors: Trojahn
authors: Caroline Camargo
authors: CC
authors: Paraboni
authors: Eneida Rejane
authors: ER
authors: Rabelo
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000628:therapy*; D006760:Hospitalization; D006792:House Calls; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D012648:Self Care; D016037:Single-Blind Method