The Role of Nursing Educational Program in Improving Nutritional Status among Patients with Heart Failure

Background: Heart failure (HF) is characterized by cardiac dysfunction, fluid retention, and subsequent exercise intolerance, significantly impacting patients’ quality of life. Nutrition plays a pivotal role in managing HF, as dietary modifications can alleviate symptoms and improve clinical outcomes. Foods are categorized based on their nutritional density, which is critical for optimizing health in HF patients. Nurses play a key role in healthcare by providing education, empowering patients to make informed decisions, and enhancing healthcare efficiency through structured interventions. Methods: From (August 2 to February 8, 2024), 200 patients with HF were treated in the Sulaimani Cardiac Hospital in Sulaimani City using a quasi-experimental technique. The participants were divided into two groups: Intervention (100) and control (100). They completed a detailed questionnaire that included demographics, medical data, and a variety of examinations. The interventional group had exclusive access to the nutrition education program. Data were collected through direct interviews and processed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version (26). Results: The average age of the respondents was (68.3 ± 11.2) years. At first, both groups comprised (100) patients, however, the intervention group dropped to (94) and the control group to (90) owing to fatalities. The nutrition education program resulted in significant differences between the groups in high-density lipoprotein and cholesterol levels, blood electrolytes, waist-hip ratios, and hospitalization rates. Conclusions and recommendations: The intervention group showed greater improvements in nutritional status than the control group. A 12-week educational program improved eating habits, reduced hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol levels, and body weight, and increased awareness of healthier food alternatives. This demonstrates that such programs can enhance quality of life, and dietary habits, and perhaps reduce death rates in the intervention group compared to the control group.