Position paper--Heart failure education - Personal Statement Example

Adapting to the consequences of having CHF can be a difficult process for the patients. Unfortunately, many heart failure patients do not believe that they need to take precautionary measures until the effects start to show up and they become acutely ill. Many of them may rely on drugs for temporary relief which has its own repercussions. Despite advances in therapy, admission and readmission rates for patients with HF remain unacceptably high (Hoekstra et al., 2010, p. 226). Among patients aged > 70 years admitted for HF, approximately 40-60% are readmitted within 90 days.

In a research, it was found that the unplanned readmissions caused a lot of trouble to the hospital administration because of scarcity of accommodation and facilities (Scott, 2010, p. 445). The requirement of delivery of service, accommodation, food, and care also incurs a lot of cost. The author is of the view that patients need to receive comprehensive and adequately structured education on the prevention, early recognition, and management of HF. Heart Failure education and self-care management are key components in the prevention, maintenance and exacerbation of heart failure.

This education needs to be delivered within the community of patients. Patients should be educated throughout their admission into healthcare facilities and it must continue until they are transited to home. Nurses are an essential component in the interdisciplinary team in providing comprehensive HF education to patients while they are hospitalized. Several studies are supportive of the opinion that providing education to patients while they are hospitalized and prior to their discharge improves clinical outcomes which include, but are not limited to decline in readmission rates, decrease in the patient’s duration of stay in the hospital, improvement in self-care behavior, and an overall reduction in the health care costs.

Taking that into consideration, it is imperative that nurses remain updated with the latest guidelines regarding the practice of HF prevention and management in order to be able to facilitate positive outcomes in the patients and improve the quality of life of the victims of HF. The empowerment approach is based on the assumption that an individual who suffers from the chronic illness is personally responsible to take care of his/her health, and should thus, take his/her care to the maximum level possible.

The fundamental objective of imparting education is to enable the patients to reach their goals and make rational decisions with respect to their self care. The Chronic Heart Failure (CHF) badly affects both the physiological and psychological health of the victim and ruins his/her efficiency in the routine activities. If the CHF has passed the initial stages and has gained strength over time, patients are bound to abandon their personal will and are supposed to adapt themselves according to the effects of the CHF.

Poorly educated HF patients require more intervention as compared to educated patients (Barbareschi et al., 2011, p. 53). Past research has shown that with proper education, as many as 40% of the cases of HF can be prevented from occurring (Jacobs, 2011, p. 19). As a result of the study conducted by Powell et al. (2010, p. 1337), the technology-assisted supervision accompanied with telephone supervision reduced the risk of HF by 30%. It is hence, imperative that people are educated on the symptoms, treatment and precautions of the HF in order to improve their