Treatment adherence in heart failure patients followed up by nurses in two specialized clinics.
OBJECTIVE
to analyze treatment adherence in heart failure (HF) patients followed up by the nursing staff at specialized clinics and its association with patients' characteristics such as number of previous appointments, family structure, and comorbidities.


METHODS
a cross-sectional study was conducted at two reference clinics for the treatment of HF patients (center 1 and center 2). Data were obtained using a 10-item questionnaire with scores ranging from 0 to 26 points; adherence was considered adequate if the score was ≥ 18 points, or 70% of adherence.


RESULTS
a total of 340 patients were included. Mean adherence score was 16 (±4) points. Additionally, 124 (36.5%) patients showed an adherence rate ≥ 70%. It was demonstrated that patients who lived with their family had higher adherence scores, that three or more previous nursing appointments was significantly associated with higher adherence (p<0.001), and that hypertension was associated with low adherence (p=0.023).


CONCLUSIONS
treatment adherence was considered satisfactory in less than a half of the patients followed up at the two clinics specialized in HF. Living with the family and attending to a great number of nursing appointments improved adherence, while the presence of hypertension led to worse adherence.
Instituto de Cardiologia do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Andressa Freitas
AF
da Silva
Escola de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Ana Carla Dantas
AC
Cavalcanti
Instituto de Cardiologia do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Mauricio
M
Malta
Instituto Estadual de Cardiologia Aloysio de Castro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
Cristina Silva
CS
Arruda
Instituto de Cardiologia do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Thamires
T
Gandin
Escola de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Adriana
A
da Fé
Escola de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Eneida Rejane
ER
Rabelo-Silva
D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000451:nursing*; D006782:Hospitals, Special; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D057566:Self Report