Heart Failure Patients and Telephone Intervention Essay

Introduction
Patients diagnosed with heart failure or HF experience a significant reduction in their quality of life experience. Also, the disease takes a tremendous toll on their financial resources. Furthermore, HF patients form part of a state’s significant financial burden. For example, the researcher documenting the study revealed that nine percent of HF patients are going to be re-admitted to a tertiary health care facility a few days after their discharge (Stavrianopoulos, 2016). It is important to figure out an effective intervention strategy.

Based on a review of the literature on the said medical issue, the application of a nurse-led telephone intervention program can help improve the patients’ quality of life metrics. As a consequence, a study was designed based on the idea that a sustained telephone intervention strategy facilitated by a team of qualified nurses can help create positive changes in the patients’ lives. The positive outcome underscored the value of using evidence-based nursing in developing disease management programs or DMP. The following pages highlight the outcome of a study using a telephone-based DMP spearheaded by a group of nurses proficient in HF patient care, and the strategy’s positive implications on the role of nurses in addressing a critical medical issue.Heart Failure Patients and Telephone Intervention Essay

Describe the Study’s Research Question
A nurse-led telephone intervention program was the proposed DMP to improve patients’ quality of life metrics. This was based on previous studies that specifically applied the same framework in providing critical information regarding diet, medication, weight control, and actions that must be taken when the patient detected signs of worsening symptoms (Stavrianopoulos, 2016). Aside from providing health-related education, the nurses-led DMP must also ensure the proper steps necessary to perform follow-up protocols.

It has to be pointed out that research outcomes from previous studies exemplifying a similar research design strongly influenced the development of the current scientific inquiry. These are some of the events that influenced the formulation of the current research question. It is also important to note that the patients were selected based on the New York Heart Association selection criteria. All of the participants were classified as either an NYHA II or an NYHA II HF patient.Heart Failure Patients and Telephone Intervention Essay

Describe the Study’s Research Design
Male and female HF patients took part in the study. The participants were equally divided into two groups: Group A and Group B. The nurses-led DMP lasted for 16 weeks. The researcher estimated that the average time consumed for each call was approximately 20 minutes (Stavrianopoulos, 2016). Statistical tools were employed to figure out the statistical difference in the data collected from Group A and Group B. Four nurses took part in the said DMP. These nurses were all qualified to implement the intervention strategy.Heart Failure Patients and Telephone Intervention Essay

The research design’s strength is evident in the easy comparison of the outcome of the intervention strategy. The author utilized this research design because it is easier to demonstrate the impact of a particular intervention strategy. Consider for instance that after the collection of data, the author can simply apply statistical tools to determine if there is a significant difference in the outcome of the study. However, the research design’s weakness is evident in the small sample size. One can argue that the author decided not to change the research framework due to limited resources. It is easier to follow-up 25 patients with a team comprised only of a few nursing professionals.Heart Failure Patients and Telephone Intervention Essay
Describe the Sample
A random selection was made to identify the inclusion of 50 male and female HF patients, regardless of ethnicity, marital classification, and socioeconomic status. There were 25 HF patients per group. Group A was the group that received a direct line of communication with a team of qualified nurses. However, Group B was the control, and the patients did not receive any telephone calls or any type of communication in the form of a follow-up protocol and information transmission process after they were discharged from the hospital. On the other hand, the members of Group A received critical information related to a specific DMP.

The sample size was not adequate, because there were only 25 participants. The small number was not enough to generalize that the research outcome holds in other care settings. In this type of inquiry, there were a significant number of factors that may affect the outcome of the study, such as, weight, age, diet, and complications of the disease. Thus, to prove that the positive change in the patient’s quality of life measurements was due to the aforementioned DMP, it is imperative to test the intervention strategy on larger sample size.Heart Failure Patients and Telephone Intervention Essay