[Therapeutic education of heart failure patients in France].

Heart failure is a frequent and severe disease. The rate of avoidable hospitalizations due to lack of treatment adherence is estimated at 30% and, makes this disease a prime target for patient education. Implementation of such education initially began as a function of the local possibilities and willingness, which has led to great variety in the programs (only some of which meet the criteria set forth in the National Authority for Health guidelines) and the tools used.

Therapeutic education unit for heart failure: setting-up and difficulties. Initial evaluation of the I-CARE programme.

Background: Education programmes are required in chronic diseases. The insuffisance cardiaque : éducation thérapeutique (I-CARE) programme was developed in France to promote the setting-up of therapeutic education units for chronic heart failure.

Aim: To evaluate the setting-up of such units, assessing the influence of training on the creation and organization of the unit, the problems encountered and the contribution of the dedicated educational tools.