Effectiveness of an educational program on adherence and quality of life in patients with heart failure.

Abstract

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of an educational program on therapeutic adherence, quality of life, and satisfaction in heart failure patients treated at the nursing clinic.

Materials and methods: A quasi-experimental, longitudinal, and prospective study was conducted with 42 patients treated at the National Cardiovascular Institute (INCOR-EsSalud). The intervention included five in-person educational sessions. Therapeutic adherence was assessed using the Morisky-Green test, and quality of life was assessed using the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) before and after the intervention. Pre-post comparisons were performed using McNemar's test.

Results: . In 42 patients, adherence according to the Morisky-Green test was 47.6% at baseline (20/42) and 83.3% post-intervention (35/42) (McNemar p=0.001). In the paired matrix, 18 patients improved from non-adherent to adherent, and 3 improved from adherent to non-adherent. In the MLHFQ, the "good" category was 26.2% at baseline (11/42) and 69.1% post-intervention (29/42); the "poor" category decreased from 7.1% (3/42) to 0%. 100% reported high satisfaction.

Conclusions: . The nurse-led educational program was associated with a significant improvement in therapeutic adherence and quality of life in patients with heart failure. Participants also reported high levels of satisfaction with the educational intervention and the care received. These findings suggest that the program is a viable and accepted strategy for strengthening self-care in this population.