Hala Mohamed Sanad

Abstract

Nurses specialized in heart failure management constitute a vital key agent in assessing the signs and symptoms of cardiac deterioration, monitor therapy compliance, afford education, psychosocial support, and counseling. Additionally, they act as the healthcare liaison for the patients and their families at any stage of the disease. The study aimed to assess cardiac care nurses' knowledge and attitude towards management of patients with heart failure. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used with a convenience sample of 153 nurses. The data was collected through self-administered questionnaire. Findings: The study findings revealed generally low knowledge of the management of patients with heart failure among the nurses. Moreover, the nurses’ attitudes towards management of heart failure patients tended to be positive. Conclusion: The nurses do not have an adequate knowledge of the managing heart failure patients whereas their related attitudes tend to be positive. The deficient knowledge would certainly have a negative impact on the quality of their practice, and consequently on patients’ outcomes. They need training to improve their knowledge and attitudes, especially concerning heart failure disease condition. Bahraini nurses, particularly females with long years of experience need to be the first targeted by such staff development activities. .