Nursing intervention to enhance self-care among patients with heart failure: A systematic review and narrative synthesis

Abstract

The number of patients with heart failure, the leading cause of death, has increased recently. Self-care is important for patients with heart failure to manage their chronic symptoms, prevent worsening symptoms and death, and improve their quality of life. The aim of this study was to systematically review research studies on improving self-care and to analyze the methods used in these studies to develop self-care interventions in Thai patients with heart failure. Twenty research articles published between the years 2010 and 2020 were reviewed. Data were analyzed using systematic review and narrative analysis based on the specific theory of self-care in heart failure. The results showed that most self-care interventions were related to self-care maintenance rather than self-care management and self-care confidence with multiple self-care strategies. The recommendation that emerged from this study was to develop self-care interventions consisting of three components: Self-care maintenance, self-care management, and self-care confidence. These interventions should include several self-care methods and include self-care in the first basic part. Self-care interventions should focus on knowledge of the disease and self-care, individualized instruction based on the patient's readiness and status, psychological support, appropriate duration of programs and materials, and a multidisciplinary approach to care.