Effect of the Transition Program on Self-Care of Patients With Heart Failure: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract

Objective: analyze the effect of transitional care on self-care, quality of life and knowledge of disease of patients admitted with heart failure. Method: this is a blind randomized clinical trial with 74 patients with heart failure in two quaternary hospitals in Rio de Janeiro-RJ between December 2017 and February 2020. The intervention group received transitional care with educational management by a nurse at the bedside from admission until hospital discharge and telephone consultation for 30 days after discharge. The control group received usual follow-up. The primary outcomes included maintenance skills, management and confidence in self-care, and the secondary outcomes included quality of life and knowledge of disease. Both were assessed using questionnaires validated for use in Brazil. Data were analyzed by repeated measures ANOVA. Results: the intervention group had higher scores for maintenance (74.3 vs 44.2; p<0.001) and self-care confidence (79.3 vs 56.4; p<0.001) and knowledge of disease (41.3 vs 27.5; p<0.001) and lower quality of life scores (42.1 vs 64.5; p<0.001) 30 days after discharge. Conclusion: transitional care was effective in improving quality of life, knowledge of disease, maintenance and confidence in self-care. This study was registered in the Brazilian Clinical Trials Registry, under RBR-2dpc6b.