Understanding Heart Failure, the Therapeutic Regimen, and the Relationship to Rehospitalization in Home Care Patients

Heart Failure (HF) is the most important public health problem facing cardiovascular health care. Hospital readmission risk is higher for patients with HF than for any other patient group. The purpose of this study was to examine the understanding of HF by home care conducted to answer two important research questions: 1. what is the baseline understanding about heart failure and treatment regimen? 2. what is the relationship between knowledge levels and risk for hospital readmission? The Health Belief Model provided the theoretical framework for the research to identify barriers to health related decision-making. A tool was developed for this study designed to assess knowledge levels of home care patients with heart failure. A convenience sample of HF patients was drawn from a home health care agency database. A telephone interview was conducted to assess understanding, in addition to data retrieval from the OASIS home care database. Due to a small sample, the study's findings were inconclusive. Promise for utility of the tool was described. Recommendations for further research are provided.Master'sSchool of Health Professions and Studies: NursingUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/117826/1/Lacroix.pd