Heart failure patient learning needs after hospital discharge

This descriptive-correlational study examined the perceived learning needs of heart failure patients in postdischarge settings, as well as the influence of demographic variables on these learning needs. The Outpatient Heart Failure Learning Needs Inventory was used to rate subjects’ perceptions of the importance of educational topics on a five-point Likert scale. Findings indicated that subjects perceived signs and symptoms and medications as most important to learn and diet, activity, and psychological factors as least important to learn. These findings are consistent with previous research and provide a framework on which to base the development of educational programs for patients with heart failure. A significant finding was that nearly 25% of screened patients were unable to participate because they were unaware that they had been diagnosed with heart failure.