Heart
Heart failure, also known as chronic heart failure or CHF, is a condition when the pressure on the heart increases when it has to pump blood. In short, the heart does not work to its adequate capacity commensurate with the age of the person. When blood flow to vital organs like the kidney and lungs is restricted, fluids build up in the body organs leading to further pressure on the heart and even multi-organ failure if not treated in time.
Heart conditions are serious and adversities can be pushed further through effective treatment and changes in lifestyle habits that aid in a longer life span. However, without patient adherence and engagement through heart failure patient education achieving the desired outcomes is not possible for healthcare providers.
Why is patient education important?
Patients suffering from CHF or other heart diseases cannot afford complacency concerning their diet, habits, and exercise. They need to maintain low-calorie, low-sodium diets that ease the control of cholesterol and fluid retention in the body.
Habits such as a requisite sleep cycle, moderate exercise, and no smoking, alcohol, or substance consumption will reduce the risk of hospital admission or death in the worst-case scenario. Though we are taught these health maintenance points at the school level, adherence or non-adherence to adopting healthy habits needs mental conditioning, willpower, and community support. Therefore, patient education becomes a challenge as people grow and become adults. They have conditioned their bad habits as a matter of convenience or the result of product marketing.
Challenges in patient education
There are several challenges in patient education for heart conditions that can cause some bottlenecks, but thankfully modern healthcare has focussed solutions for the current problems.
Here are some of the issues that pose challenges and their corresponding solutions when educating patients about their education
- Patient adherence
Patient adherence is low when they don’t understand what is being told. It is necessary to know that patients are not clinical science students and will not understand the language that a clinician does. It is necessary to break down the components to a cause-effect relationship for a patient to grasp better
This problem can be overcome through simple data points, charts, and interactive short videos that explain the problem in 3D simulation format that attracts the imagination of the person and is retained in their memory. Short explainer videos on the importance of low-sodium diets or the impact of smoking on the heart with visuals can help patients commit to healthy habits.
- Patient engagement
Engaging patients specifically when they are discharged from the hospital will be difficult without consistent monitoring and communication. However, with telehealth and remote patient monitoring programs, it is convenient to constantly monitor the physiological conditions of the patients. If there is any RPM data reading that is out-of-sync then adverse episodes can be averted through timely interventions.
Topics to be covered in patient education
Heart failure is often treated as a misnomer where patients feel they are in progressive stages of health. Often through the right choices of lifestyle management and effective treatment plan, heart patients have been known to live long. But for a person to understand the implications of lifestyle habits and implying them some gaps need to be sealed through education. Here are some of the topics that need to be addressed when educating a patient:
- Medication refill
Most patients try to avoid refills for many reasons like lack of finances or knowledge to manage their prescription meds. This habit can lead to catastrophic results as prescription medicines should be changed or stopped only after consultation with a doctor
- Easy route
Eating unhealthy meals is easier than making fresh nutritious meals and consuming them within a short period from the time of preparation. Likewise snapping out of addictive habits is more difficult than leaning against them. However, consistent check-ups and follow-ups with positive reinforcement and community support can help patients steer to good habits.
Conclusion:
When patients realize that without adherence to medication, diet, and change in habits, their treatment plan is not effective, they will only process the information. However, when they see the positive outcome and understand that treatment is more effective through positive changes, they will do everything in their capacity to work towards a healthy being.
