One of the things we’ve discovered in writing entries is that there is more going on with self-management that we realized. This has been shown in the wide array of notes put on the site. Heart failure is a major public health problem and a major cause of death in the US. Having nurses use telephone follow-up has been suggested as a convenient and effective mechanism to promote the self-management of heart failure. A patient empowerment approach to the management of chronic disease has also been suggested as one that may improve self-management in individuals with chronic illness. The purpose of a study by Cisar and colleagues was to examine the effects of a telephone-delivered intervention on clinically and theoretically relevant outcomes in patients with heart failure. A convenience sample of men and women aged 21 years and older with a clinical diagnosis of heart failure. Patients obtained from a metropolitan hospital located were randomly assigned to the control group (n = 45) or intervention group (n = 45). All participants received standardized heart failure patient education; the intervention group also received self-management delivered through telephone follow-up calls from a registered nurse. The telephone-delivered intervention facilitated self-management of heart failure through self-care activities in intervention group members.

COMMENTS: The authors concluded that knowledge gained from the study provides preliminary information on an understanding of strategies to enhance health care providers' ability to facilitate self-management of among patients with heart failure. This was basically a pilot study, but it suggests that the self-management approach taken has value with heart failure patients. More research is needed with the program.

N. Cisar et al. A telephone-delivered empowerment intervention with patients diagnosed with heart failure. Heart and Lung, 2007;36:159-169.