LAUSR

OBJECTIVE We evaluated the effectiveness of a newly designed patient education booklet, the Health Heart Tracker (HHT), in promoting Heart Failure Self-Care (HFSC) behaviors compared to usual patient discharge handouts. METHODS We conducted a quasi-experimental, comparative two-group study using patients admitted for HF to four intermediate care units. The HHT was instituted on two units; patients on the other units served as control. We analyzed HFSC measured prior to HF discharge education and at two and six weeks post discharge using repeated measures ANOVA. RESULTS Eighty-four 84 patients completed the study. The sample was 72.6 (+ 12.9) years old, white (75%), educated, and retired (85.8%). All HFSC behaviors improved significantly over time, but there were no significant time by group interactions in HFSC maintenance, symptom perception, and confidence. A notable increase in HFSC management in the HHT group between baseline and 2 weeks was evident, but not sustained to 6 weeks. CONCLUSIONS A focused, singular intervention in the form of a patient education booklet designed specifically to improve HFSC did not significantly improve self-care behaviors over time compared to a control group. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS More work is needed to determine optimal written resources for patients with HF.