CHF Health Promotion Education

Essay by longrn October 2006

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Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) affects a more people because of the increased survival rate post heart attacks leaving the patients with residual heart problems. According to Dr. Grossman, "in the US: More than 3 million people have CHF, and more than 400,000 new patients present yearly. Prevalence of CHF is 1-2% of the general population" (2006). In an effort to improve patient outcomes the patient education department undertook a project that included the use of common guidelines, Core Measures, to develop an education tool for patient use. The team goal was to promote self-management through patient education and lifestyle changes. After several months of planning and development the CHF tool was put into service. The information provided by the education tool including management and consideration of:

* Blood pressure

* Daily weight monitoring

* Reducing sodium in diet

* Risks for other coronary artery disease

* Understanding food nutrition labels

* Compliance with medication

* Active involvement with primary physician

* Cultural considerations in making lifestyle changes

A well designed pamphlet or brochure is essential part of any educational or promotional activity.

For the purpose of this project, the team kept the goal of providing self-care education to the general public. The team chose to use the layout of a single page that could be: easily photocopied if needed, placed on the refrigerator using a magnet, or folded and placed in a wallet or purse. Simple fonts and graphics were used to prevent clutter on the page and to facilitate ease of reading. Market experts agree that use of clinical language and too much information would decrease the appeal of the pamphlet thus reducing its effectiveness as an educational tool. Careful attention to the language is evident in the final product.

The average patient presenting to HCBC has a limited...