EFFECTIVENESS OF NURSE MANAGEMENT FOR CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE :A REVIEW OF EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE CONTENTS PAGE pg A . Introduction 2 B . Is symptom management the cornerstone of treatment for CHF patients ? 2 C . Is nurse management effective when treating CHF patients ? 4 D . Which multidisciplinary strategy provides the largest health benefits ? 5 E . Conclusion 6 References 7 EFFECTIVENESS OF NURSE MANAGEMENT FOR CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE :A REVIEW OF EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE A . Introduction Over the past 30 years , researchers have demonstrated that congestive heart failure (CHF ) represents a major public health problem . CHF is a persistent , debilitating disease that is increasing in incidence and prevalence in the elderly (Jolly , 2002 . As Quaglietti , Pham and Froelicher (2000 ) point out ,within the last decade , there has been publication of evidence-based therapies for CHF . Just how effective these therapies are for improving the functioning and survival in a patient with CHF ,however , has been a matter of some controversy (Stromberg , Martensson ,Fridlund , Levin , Karlsson Dahlstrom , 2003 . Many researchers agree that the prognosis for CHF is poor (Quaglietti , et .al ,2005 ) and that patients may be receiving inadequate treatments but show different conclusions in addressing the following questions :Is symptom management the cornerstone of treatment for CHF patients ?Is nurse management effective when treating CHF patients ? 3 . Which multidisciplinary strategy provides the largest health benefits ?This review integrates these three questions by focusing on the role of nurses in the management of care for patients diagnosed with CHF .B . Is symptom management the cornerstone of treatment for CHF patients ?Several clinical trials have shown that symptoms can be handled by drug treatments and alteration of a variety of lifestyle factors . However , many patients do not have optimal treatment because of the complexities of patient characteristics and shortfalls in care delivery such as : lack of knowledge , lack of time , intricacy in diagnosis , poor coordination of care , and co-morbid conditions (Grange , 2005 .In addition , patients may often have to deal with cognitive and /or functional limitations , and may be lonely and lack support from family . Numerous patients have financial concerns , and psychological conditions such as anxiety and depression (Grange , 2003 .It is now recognized that psychosocial factors such as quality of life ,social support , depression and anxiety are significant and pertinent predicting factors of heart failure decompensation and mortality (Ducharme , Doyon , White , Rouleau Brophy , 2005 .Patients with CHF therefore require close clinical management and support to control and identify their symptoms (Jolly , 2002 . There is also considerable evidence that the education given to patients with heart failure in order to teach self-care is often insufficient .Therefore the role of a special nurse is ideal for focusing on the clinical needs of the patient as well as the educational and supportive requirements for both patients and family (Sisk , Hebert , Horowitz ,Mclaughlin , Wang Chassin ,2006 (Jolly , 2002 ) demonstrates that the heart failure nurse support also has helpful affects on patient outcomes , for example , the instant patients experience problems or changes they are able to contact a health care provider and…
