| Background: Heart failure (HF) is a major and increasing public health problem globally. In China, there were approximately 4,000,000 patients with HF in the year 2000 and the number is continuously increasing due to the aging population. HF greatly influences patients' lives in all aspects. Programmes are therefore in imperative need to manage the disease and increase patients' sense of well-being.;Aims: The overall aims of the study were to identify the information needs of Chinese HF population and to examine the effectiveness of a heart failure disease management programme (HFDMP) on patients' clinical outcomes, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and psychological status.;Methods: First of all, a questionnaire survey (phase I, n=347), of which the questionnaire validation (n=247) was also included, and qualitative interviews with 26 patients and 24 health professionals (phase II) were consecutively conducted to know the information needs of patients with HF. According to the results of phase I and phase II studies, a booklet was developed to address the information needs of patients. Then a prospective controlled trial (phase III, n=160) was undertaken to examine the effectiveness of a HFDMP, including the components of two-session inpatient booklet education and weekly telephone follow-up for 4 weeks after discharge, on patients' performance of 6-minute walking test (6-MWT), clinical outcomes [death, cardiac-related admission (CRA) and length of stay (LoS) in hospital], medication adherence, HRQoL, and psychological status (depression and anxiety). Data collection was carried out at baseline, at 4 weeks (programme end) and 3 months (study end) after hospital discharge. Inferential statistics including independent t-test, paired t-test, Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, the Mann-Whitney U test, and the Generalized Estimating Equation model, were used to compare the baseline and various outcome variables within and between groups.;Results: According to the results of phase I, the questionnaire entitled "Heart Failure Patient Learning Needs Inventory" is valid and reliable to measure learning needs among Chinese HF population. Based on the information needs identified in phase I and II, infonnation about HF regarding definition, symptoms, risk factors, classification, treatment strategies, and self-management strategies such as weight and symptoms monitoring, low-salt diet, medication compliance, exercise, and emotion management was included in the booklet. The accuracy, readability, and applicability of the booklet were established by an expert panel and potential users.;With regard to the effectiveness of the HFDMP on patients' outcomes, patients in the experimental group showed greater improvement through the study period than those in control group in the following aspects: a significantly better medication adherence (p < 0.001) as measured by the Chinese version of the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale, a significantly better HRQoL (p < 0.001) as assessed by the Chinese version of the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire, and a significantly greater reduction in depression and anxiety (p < 0.001) as assessed by the Chinese version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. However, effectiveness of the programme on patients' 6-MWT, death, CRA, and LoS were not confirmed in the present study.;Conclusion: Findings of the study provide further evidence that the simple combination of education and telephone follow-up could improve patients' medication adherence, HRQoL, and psychological status among Chinese HF population. Moreover, booklet developed in the study, to a certain extent, can be used as the tool for clinical HF education in China. The study also provides clues and direction for health professionals to develop interventions under the situation of busy clinical work and limited resources in Chinese health care practice. |
