As the burden of chronic diseases increases globally, particularly in emerging economies, developing models of intervention that are appropriate to both the individual and the socio-cultural context are necessary.
The ability to work effectively in small groups and teams is essential for all health-care workers in the contemporary health environment. Findings of this study highlight the need for educators to explore novel and effective ways in which to engage nurses in group work.
Background Heart failure is a complex clinical syndrome with high demands for self-care. The Self-care of Heart Failure Index (SCHFI) was developed to measure self-care and has demonstrated robust psychometric properties across populations. Aim To assess the psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the SCHFI (A-SCHFI). Discussion The scores of the A-SCHFI administered to 223 Lebanese patients with heart failure were used to validate this instrument. Face and content validity, assessed by a panel of experts, were found sufficient. The three constructs of the A-SCHFI explained 37.5% of the variance when performing exploratory factor analysis. Adequate fit indices were achieved using the modification procedure of controlling error terms with the confirmatory factor analysis. The reliability coefficient was adequate in the maintenance, management and confidence scales. Conclusion Following adaptation, the modified A-SCHFI was shown to be a valid and reliable measure of self-care among the Lebanese population. Implications for practice Cross-cultural adaptation is a rigorous process involving complex procedures and analyses. The adaptation of the A-SCHFI should be further analysed, including sensitivity and test-retest analysis, with methods to assess the degree of agreement among the panel.
Purpose
The purpose of this prospective evaluation is to document in‐hospital management and discharge trends of patients presented for acute heart failure.
Design
A prospective evaluation of the patients presented for heart failure exacerbation at eight sites over 1 month using the method of the New South Wales Heart Failure Snapshot.
Methods
Trained personnel situated at each of the study sites recruited eligible patients to the study and collected data on their sociodemographic characteristics, clinical presentation, self‐care, frailty, and depression.
Findings
Eight sites, out of the 27 contacted, agreed to participate in this study. A total of 137 admissions were reported in the 1‐month time window. Mean age was 72 (SD = 13) years and the majority were female (52%). More than half (n = 60%) had heart failure reduced ejection fraction with a mean ejection fraction of 41%. The mean Charlson Comorbidity Index score was four with hypertension (80%) and diabetes (56%) being the most frequent. The majority were frail (86%), self‐care mean scores were low; self‐care maintenance (29), self‐care management (48) and self‐care confidence (42). The mean depression score was 14 indicating major depression. In reference to international guidelines recommendations, hospital administered medications and discharge medications were suboptimal. Some items of the discharge education recommended by the international guidelines were provided to 84% of the patients but none of the patients received the complete items of the discharge education.
Conclusions
The snapshot revealed that patients admitted for acute heart failure were frail with high levels of illiteracy and low self‐care scores. Despite these findings, these patients were not provided with complete discharge education in reference to the international guidelines. Additionally, when provided, discharge education was inconsistent across the study sites. This study highlights the need for enlisting complete education as part of the discharge process, in addition to abidance to the guidelines in prescribing medication. The study draws major implications for nursing practice, research and policy.
Clinical Relevance
Literacy among patients with heart failure is low and should be addressed in educational intervention to improve outcomes.
Discharge education is under practiced across the country and should be implemented in accordance with the international guidelines.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.