Educational Challenges to the Health Care Professional in Heart Failure Care

Abstract

The purpose of this review is to discuss the educational challenges faced by health care professionals in the care and management of patients with heart failure (HF). Self-care is a vital component in HF management, and promotion of self-care through education is a fundamental aspect of patient-centered care and supports patients' right to autonomy. The ultimate goal is not simply to convey knowledge, but to promote patients' understanding and to enhance their self-care skills by assuming an active role in their care. As such, health care professionals are confronted with a number of patient-related issues as they strive to provide high-quality education. Beyond assessing patients' individual information needs and preferences, they are tasked with addressing several obstacles that impede patients' ability to engage in self-care. Factors such as cognitive impairment and low health literacy have a major impact on patients' ability to understand, absorb, and recall information. Moreover, the existence of negative beliefs, which are strong determinants of patients' attitudes towards their disease and treatment, may also influence their response to educational messages. Health care professionals must not only identify and overcome these obstacles, but they must act effectively within the limitations of their working environment and of the health care system.

An exploration of learning needs: identifying knowledge deficits among hospitalized adults with heart failure

“…This supports previous literature which indicated that patients with CHF expressed difficulty with translating knowledge into understanding how to engage in self-care activities and behaviors [50]. The incidental finding regarding a lack of awareness for their CHF diagnosis was supported by studies in which participants had minimal knowledge and were unaware they were diagnosed with CHF [37],[49]. Findings suggested the need for increased teaching when defining the disease process and differentiating it from other heart-related problems such as heart attack or arrhythmia.…”

“…These difficulties and barriers for performing self-care consist of misconceptions, lack of knowledge, age, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and the limited amount of time for health care providers to deliver health education [36]. These factors were associated with increased readmission rates and poor outcomes in patient education and teaching [37]–[39]. Patient perceptions of instructions often differ which causes an inability of patients to fully understand the instructions provided by his or her doctor [40].…”

A quasi-experimental study examining a nurse-led educational program to improve disease knowledge and self-care for patients with acute decompensated heart failure with reduced ejection fraction

“…Like previous studies, we found disease awareness and self-management skills initially poor among Polish patients with HF. [31][32][33][34][35] However, "The Weak Heart" model, prepared based on HF guidelines and practical recommendations, 1,4,7,36 was effective in enhancing HF patients' knowledge and developing self-management behaviors. In the study, the education program was delivered by a certified nurse educator working in a given cardiology ward.…”

Challenges in physician-patient communication for optimal management of systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease: a discourse analysis

“…Poor understanding of their disease can lead to uncertainty, anxiety, fear and even disappointment for patients, including those with SSc-ILD [14,31]. Indeed, it has been shown that patients with SSc were fearful when their symptoms progressed but remained unexplained by HCPs [32].…”