An Educational Intervention to Evaluate Nurses' Knowledge of Heart Failure

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Cardiovascular Nursing
• Patient Self-Care Management

Background:

• Nurses are primary educators for patients with chronic conditions.
• Knowledge gaps in heart failure (HF) management exist among nursing staff.
• Effective patient education is crucial for managing heart failure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a focused educational intervention on nurses' knowledge of heart failure self-care principles.
• To assess the effectiveness of a teaching program in an ambulatory care setting.
• To identify improvements in nurses' understanding of heart failure patient education.

Main Methods:

• A one-group pretest-posttest intervention design was employed.
• Forty ambulatory care nurses participated in the study.
• Nurses' knowledge was assessed using the Nurses Knowledge of Heart Failure Education Principles Survey before and after the intervention.

Main Results:

• The educational intervention led to a statistically significant improvement in nurses' knowledge of heart failure self-care principles (p < .05).
• Post-intervention assessments indicated enhanced understanding of key HF self-care concepts.
• The findings confirm the effectiveness of targeted education in improving nursing knowledge.

Conclusions:

• A structured teaching intervention can effectively enhance nurses' knowledge of heart failure.
• Improved nurse knowledge may translate to more effective patient education.
• This approach holds potential for reducing heart failure readmission rates.