Abstract
Patients with heart failure ought to learn different coping strategies that will help them live with their condition. Heart failure has already been categorized as a global pandemic, contributing to 17-45% of hospitalizations among individuals diagnosed with the condition each year. As many as 1 in 100 Black men and women develop heart failure before age 50, 20 times the rate in Whites in this age group according to new findings from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NHLBI, 2009). Therefore, self-care adherence is vital to their well-being and improving their quality of life. Most patients are unaware of the repercussions of not adhering to specific self-care strategies. This quality improvement project aimed to promote self-care observance among patients living with heart failure by applying educational modules that helped them understand their condition better. Heart failure is a chronic condition that imposes a significant burden on patients, families, and healthcare systems. This progressive condition has been associated with high morbidity, mortality, and healthcare expenses. Its symptoms can overwhelm patients, particularly if they are not adequately educated about their condition and how to manage it. Therefore, self-care has become an important strategy to improve their livelihoods. (Schaefer-Keller et al., 2021) recommended that all heart failure patients adhere to self-care techniques such as adopting a healthy balanced diet, physical activities such as walking, and managing their feelings to improve their cardioprotective mechanisms. Most patients are unaware of the seriousness of their condition; when they do, they have no idea how to live with it positively while understanding that it can be managed effectively. The Atlanta Heart Failure Knowledge Test is highly recommended for evaluating patients' knowledge of their condition and improving their medical adherence or self-care. This tool was administered after patients had been introduced to the educational modules provided by the Heart Failure Society of America. The 10-item instrument measured the levels of knowledge the patients attained after being exposed to the educational modules (Alghalayini, 2020). Additionally, the instrument provides self-management practices for heart failure patients. The educational modules collected background data on their subject and helped patients pose relevant questions to their doctors for a better understanding. The Atlanta Heart Failure Knowledge Test assesses the patients’ knowledge of their heart failure.