Impressions of Conventional Bedside Discharge Teaching Among Readmitted Heart Failure Patients.

Objective: The purpose of this project was to report patient impressions of discharge teaching delivered by nurses among a population of heart failure (HF) inpatients.

Background: Heart failure readmissions are frequently attributed to the quality of discharge teaching delivered by nurses.

Methods: Thematic analysis, an atheoretical approach to the identification, organization, and analysis of themes in texts, was used to explore the data collected from patient interviews.

Results: Sixteen interviews were conducted with patients readmitted for HF on dedicated cardiac units. Six major themes were identified including: 1) recall of instructions; 2) comprehension; 3) teaching media; 4) follow-up; 5) role of caregivers; 6) mismatch between nurse and patient concerns; and 7) readmission stories.

Conclusion: Discharge teaching could be improved by diminishing the volume of print materials distributed to HF patients, providing simple summaries of the most relevant advice, focusing on patient concerns more than the hospital agenda, and directly including home caregivers in teaching.