Patient Self-management in Chronic Heart Failure - Establishing Concordance Between Guidelines and Practice.

Abstract

Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a progressive and debilitating disease with a broad symptom profile, intermittently marked by periods of acute decompensation. CHF patients are encouraged to self-manage their illness, such as adhering to medical regimens and monitoring symptoms, to optimise health outcomes and quality of life. In so doing, patients are asked to collaborate with their health service providers with regard to their care. However, patients generally do not self-manage well, even with specialist support. Moreover, self-management interventions are yet to demonstrate morbidity or mortality benefits. Social network approaches to self-management consider the availability and mobilisat..