From Education to Impact: Nursing-Led Approaches a Transformative Force in Advanced Valvular Heart Diseases
Abstract
Background: Valvular heart diseases have a substantial impact on healthcare systems, contributing significantly to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality worldwide. Skilled nurses play a crucial role in improving and stabilizing patients’ health and functional status through basic management and follow-up. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a structured nursing-led health education program in improving heart failure–related clinical status, health-related quality of life, and medication adherence as well as reducing mortality among patients with advanced valvular heart disease at the Cardiovascular Medicine Departments, Assiut University Heart Hospital, Egypt. Methods: a quasi-experimental research design was used. A purposive sample of 210 patients with advanced valvular heart disease was selected from the cardiovascular medicine departments at Assiut University Heart Hospital, Assiut, Egypt (105 were assigned to the study group and 105 to the control group). Tools: Data were collected using three tools: (I) a patient assessment sheet, (II) a heart quality of life questionnaire, and (III) a Modified Six-Item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale. Results: reveals that 57.1% for the studied & 53.3% for the control groups were aged 50 ≤ 65 years, 50.5% & 62.9% were males, and also statistically significant differences were observed in heart failure assessment, total category of heart QoL, and medication adherence between the study and control groups at six months, which persisted throughout the one-year follow-up period after implementing the nursing-led health education approaches (p-value < 0.001), with moderate effect size. Conclusion: The study's findings demonstrated favorable outcomes, associated with the nursing-led health education approaches. Thus, integrating these approaches into the management of patients with advanced valvular heart disease is strongly recommended to achieve sustained improvements in patient outcomes.