EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH METHOD

Experimental Research Method

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Experimental Research Method

A prospective, randomized to a 12-month follow-up was conducted. Permission was obtained from the Regional Ethics Committee for Human Research at the University of Linköping, Sweden. The setting was a university hospital and two county hospitals.

Patients hospitalized for heart failure in New York Heart Association (NYHA class) II-IV were invited to participate in the study during the recruitment period default of 2.5 years, from June 1997 to December 1999. Inclusion criteria were diagnosis of heart failure, either by echocardiography, radiographic evidence of pulmonary congestion or typical symptoms and signs of heart failure. Exclusion criteria were severe chronic lung disease, dementia or other psychiatric illness, short expected survival, the management of a geriatric clinic or home care or who are receiving follow-up clinic nurse-led heart failure. Patients received both written and verbal information about the study before they agreed to participate. Included patients were randomly assigned to either the intervention group with follow-up in a hospital based heart failure clinic run by nurses or the control group received usual care. Randomization was blinded to the use of a computer-generated list of random numbers and sealed envelopes.

Patients in the intervention group were followed up in a heart failure clinic run by staff specially trained nurses and experienced cardiac nurses, delegated the responsibility for protocol led changes in medications. The first visit was scheduled 2-3 weeks after discharge. All visits lasted 1 hour and the nurse assesses the situation and whether the treatment of heart failure has been optimized, gave education about heart failure and social support to patients and their families. The state made during the visit includes the history, listening to your heart and lungs and inspection of edema. If the treatment needed to be optimized, the cardiologist clinic doctor ...