title: Education material for heart failure patients: what works and what does not?
abstract: Patient education is an important element of care, but evidence with regard to education material is not always apparent, as it is intertwined with educational strategies as components of heart failure management programs. Difficulties have arisen in determining the effectiveness of particular education strategies, as multiple strategies are commonly bundled together and packaged within research protocols. To further complicate this issue, the bundles are diverse, lack precision in describing their components, and report different outcomes. Despite these difficulties, clinicians can utilise a number of proven commonalities to deliver effective education: assessment of learning needs and style, verbal interaction with a healthcare professional, and a selection of multimedia patient education materials.
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Department, Princess Alexandra Hospital, The University of Queensland, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Third Floor, Building One, Ipswich Road, Woolloongabba, Brisbane, QLD, 4102, Australia, m.boyde@uq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boyde
authors.forename: Robyn
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Peters
mesh_terms: D006333:Heart Failure / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D012648:Self Care