Effectiveness of a PRECEDE-based education intervention on quality of life in elderly patients with chronic heart failure

BACKGROUND: One of the most important challenges in public health is to improve the quality of life in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Depression, self-care capacity, and quality of life interact each other in these patients. It’s difficult to treat with general education programs and conventional therapy. PRECEDE model is a comprehensive and exclusive theory-based education programs. Its effectiveness for reducing depression and increasing quality of life has been demonstrated in patients with coronary artery bypass grafting, type 2 diabetes, and the elderly. It has not been used in elderly patients with CHF. Thus, this study aims to investigate the effects of this model on self-care behaviors, depression, and quality of life in these patients. METHODS: Patients who met the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to the intervention or control group. All the patients received conventional medical care. The patients in the intervention group also received 9 sessions of education intervention based on the PRECEDE model and then followed up for 3 months after the intervention. Data were collected before and 3 months after the intervention using 4 questionnaires, namely a PRECEDE-based questionnaire to evaluate predisposing, reinforcing, and enabling factors; the 9-item European Heart Failure Self-care Behavior Scale (EHFScBS-9); the 9-item Personal Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9); and the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ). RESULTS: No significant differences were found in the mean scores for the predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors, and the mean total scores in EHFScBS-9, PHQ-9, and MLHFQ before the intervention between the intervention and control groups. After the intervention, the scores for the predisposing, reinforcing, and enabling factors increased significantly, and the mean total scores in EHFScBS-9, PHQ-9, and MLHFQ decreased significantly in the intervention group. In addition, these scores significantly differed from those of the control group. Furthermore, the MLHFQ score significantly correlated with the EHFScBS-9 and PHQ-9 scores. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates a trend that PRECEDE model of health education promotion is effective in relieving depression symptoms, enhancing self-monitoring, and improving the quality of life of elderly patients with CHF. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Trial registration number: ChiCTR-IOR-17012779; Trial registry: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry; Date registered: 22 Sep 2017; Retrospectively registered.