Learning style and learning needs of heart failure patients (The Need2Know-HF patient study)

Background: Heart failure management programs which include education are the gold standard for management of patients with heart failure. Identifying the learning styles and learning needs of heart failure patients is an essential step in developing effective education strategies within these programs. Aim: To investigate the learning style and learning needs of heart failure patients. Methods: Patients diagnosed with heart failure at a large tertiary referral hospital completed a Heart Failure Learning Style and Needs Inventory. Results: From the total of 55 patients who completed the questionnaire 64% reported a preference for multimodal learning style, 18% preferred read/write, 11% preferred auditory, and 7% preferred kinesthetic. In relation to educational topics, signs and symptoms was ranked as the most important topic to learn about followed by prognosis. Conclusion: This study provides a poignant snap-shot into the world of chronic disease. In essence, the patients' educational needs for living with heart failure can be summed up as "Never better, getting worse, unpredictable". The results indicate that these groups of patients need to know (Need2Know) about information regarding their signs and symptoms as well as wanting to elicit the significance of their disease and whether it can be cured.