Effectiveness of Nurse-led Heart Failure Transitional Care Services in Improving Clinical Outcomes and Applicability to Low-resource Settings: A Meta-analysis

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Nurse-led interventions are tailored to the specific needs of heart failure (HF) patients, facilitating the transfer of knowledge in ways that are more feasible and applicable within the context of diverse healthcare settings. These programs emphasize comprehensive discharge planning, patient education on self-care practices, medication management, and early symptom recognition. The meta-analysis included 11 randomized controlled trials, selected from databases including MEDLINE, EBSCO, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library. Quality assessment of the included studies was conducted independently by two reviewers. The overall pooled effect showed a relative risk (RR) of 0.69 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.54-0.89) for all-cause readmission and a RR of 0.80 (95% CI: 0.71-0.91) for combined outcomes of all-cause readmission and mortality in the nurse-led group compared to the control group. These results indicate that nurse-led transitional care interventions contribute substantially to reducing both readmission rates and mortality among HF patients. The review also explored the applicability of these interventions in low-resource settings, emphasizing their potential to be adapted and implemented effectively in lower-middle-income countries. This review highlights the pivotal role of nurse-led transitional care programs in addressing these challenges by providing close support to patients and their families. Leveraging existing resources and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration are essential in optimizing healthcare delivery in low-resource settings.