THE EFFECT OF APPLYING CONTINUOUS CARE MODEL ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN HEART FAILURE PATIENTS

The prevalence and mortality of heart failure is high and progressive. The incidence and prevalence of this disease is increasing in spite of medical advances. Because of the poor prognosis of the disease, limitations in physical activity, cessation of social interaction, psychological distress, increasing dependence and early retirement, it imposes a negative impact on the quality of life of the patients. The purpose of this study is assessing the effect of applying continuous care model on the quality of life in patients with heart failure. In the present clinical trial which was carried out in 2013, 60 patients with heart failure admited in Taleghani and Seyedolshohada Urmia hospitals were selected using accessible-sampling method, and they were randomly divided into two groups of 30 patients as the experimental and control groups. To evaluate the quality of life as a dependent variable, the Minnesota standard quality-of-life questionnaire was used for heart failure patients, including 21 questions on the three major dimensions of the quality of life (physical, mental and socioeconomic). The intervention was implemented during three months according to the continous care model in the experimental group. Data were analyzed by SPSS v.19 software using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, frequency), chi-square, independent and paired t-tests analysis. At the end of third month, the mean of quality of life reached in the experimental, and control groups from 65.13±5.39 to 33.83±4.85, and from 65.86±3.7 to 67.43±7.03, respectively. There was a significant difference between the two groups in all aspects of quality of life including the physical, psychological, and socioeconomic dimension (p=0.00). Applying effective care model, training and follow-up with lifestyle changes in patients with heart failure can improve and enhance quality of life in them.