DEVELOPMENT OF A PALLIATIVE CARE MODULE FOR INTEGRATION WITHIN AN EXISTING HEART FAILURE CLINIC

Heart failure affects 6.2 million of the American population. This number is expected to grow to a staggering 3% of the entire U.S. population over the next 10 years. Heart failure is characterized by a variety of physical and emotional symptoms including shortness of breath, rapid weight gain, fatigue, depression, and anorexia. These symptoms greatly challenge the patient’s quality of life and day-to-day activities. Unfortunately, 50% of patients with heart failure die within five years of being diagnosed. Palliative care is a service dedicated to improving the lives of patients with chronic, life-threatening illnesses. Although providing palliative care to patients with heart failure was exhaustively recommended in literature as well as by governing bodies, many patients with heart failure do not receive this service. The development and implementation of a palliative care module to be integrated into an existing heart failure clinic in northeast Florida was the basis of this Doctor of Nursing Practice project. The purpose of this project was to increase access to palliative care for patients with heart failure within an existing heart failure clinic. This module was developed utilizing evidence-based information from an exhaustive literature review. The continued development of the module was guided by the Stetler (2001) model of research utilization. A validation survey was completed by expert panelists to provide a comprehensive assessment of the module and prepare it for future implementation