Self-management Adherence in Heart Failure Patients

The intervention group will receive usual care and the PATCH intervention. The intervention is comprised of two phases in which the in-hospital discharge education session is followed by 12 weeks of post-discharge education sessions delivered by telephone. The focus of this study is to test the mechanism of the proposed patient activation intervention on HF self-management adherence and associated health outcomes.

Usual care refers to the standardized discharge written information and scheduled doctor appointments. Standardized discharge instruction, as recommended by CMS and the Joint Commission, includes: activity level, diet, discharge medications, follow-up doctor appointment, weight monitoring, and what to do if symptoms worsen.113 No further follow-ups are routinely done by the hospital and patients are told to see their primary care provider if problems occur.