Effect of an expert patient program in heart failure

Introduction: One of the strategies that has shown improvement in self-care for patients with heart failure is the formation of dyads and groups to provide peer support and achieve individual goals. General objective: To determine the effect of an expert patient program on heart failure related to the knowledge about adherence to treatment and satisfaction. Method: A sectional-descriptive pilot study was conducted in patients with heart failure diagnoses in a fourth-level institution. The sample size represents the entire population with the restriction criteria (N: 20 subjects). An expert patient program was implemented for 6 months and the measured outcomes were level of knowledge and satisfaction. Data was gathered from a knowledge test on adherence to treatment and a satisfaction poll. Information was processed with IBM SPSS Statistics 23.0. The distribution of absolute and relative frequencies was performed by descriptive analysis. Results: More than 95% of patients showed improvement in the level of knowledge and 85% reported a high global level of satisfaction (very satisfied), reflected in the dimension of loyalty and effectiveness. Conclusions: The expert patient in heart failure program is a cost-effective intervention, which provides capabilities to help other patients gain self-confidence and skills to manage their health condition.