Abstract:
This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of heart failure patient education at IU Health
Ball Memorial’s Heart and Lung Center. Heart failure falls under the category of cardiovascular
disease, which is the number one cause of death for both men and women in the United States.
Patients experiencing heart failure are likely to readmit to hospitals, causing the implementation
of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) by the Affordable Care Act, which
penalizes hospitals for having high numbers of 30-day readmissions. Hospitals across the
country are working to prevent heart failure patient hospital readmissions by improving their
patient education; however, one best method has not been found. The main purpose of this study
is to identify the information patients are and are not retaining, when they prefer to hear
information about their diagnosis, and their likelihood of attending the Heart Failure College
program at the hospital. In this study, 26 patients seen in the Heart Lung Center completed an inpatient
survey, and seven patients seen at home by the community paramedic completed an outpatient
survey. Results suggest that patients are familiar with most topics linked to their heart
failure diagnosis with the exceptions of heart failure zones of care, mood changes, and palliative
care. Most patients preferred learning about disease management on the day of their diagnosis as
opposed to after the first appointment post-discharge. In addition, many patients stated they
would not attend Heart Failure College due to the time commitment; however, they would prefer
to receive the same information via paper reading materials or discussions with Heart Failure
College educators by phone.
