Background. Heart failure (HF) is a complex clinical syndrome that combines common characteristics that manifest differently in each patient. A personalized educational intervention is essential at the time of discharge to the home to identify the educational needs and resources of the person. It is, therefore, necessary to start from an organized and precise collection of data to adapt the intervention to the needs of the patients, guarantee a good quality of life, and prevent the relapses of chronic pathology.
Objective. The research aims to describe the best educational nursing strategies relating to Gordon ‘s Functional Health Patterns for patients with HF upon discharge to prevent readmission.
Methods. A narrative review of the literature was conducted by consulting the MEDLINE (via Pubmed) and Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINHAL) databases, inserting free and MeSH terms. Twenty-eight articles were included in the literature.
Results. The results obtained from the analysis of the materials were divided into two macro areas: the first concerns aspects relating to nursing education according to Gordon ‘s Functional Health Patterns; the second concerns the effects of education on hospital readmissions. Compared to Functional Health Patterns, the literature pays little attention to the educational aspects of Sexuality and Reproduction and Values and Beliefs. Although other health problems can be considered a priority, these two elements can be regarded as relevant for the patient to live with the pathology and maintain psychological and relational well-being during treatment and rehabilitation. Furthermore, the literature has underlined how a personalized educational process at discharge helps prevent hospital readmissions due to disease exacerbation within 30 days.
Conclusions. According to Gordon ‘s Functional Health Patterns, the organization of nursing data can help the professional plan an effective educational intervention. Furthermore, this last moment of care is crucial in preventing hospital readmissions and guaranteeing the person ‘s well-being at home.