What is the clinical evidence from this study?

Study design: Observational. Population: Heart failure (n=120). Intervention: Nurse-led telephone-based follow-up vs. Baseline (discharge). Primary outcome: Quality of life score (MLHFQ) (p=<0.001).

What question did this study set out to answer?

To describe changes in self-care behaviors, hospital readmission rates, and quality of life following a nurse-led telephone-based follow-up after hospital discharge in patients with heart failure.

July 11, 2026Scientific ReportsOpen Access

Changes in self-care, readmissions, and quality of life are associated with nurse-led telephone support in heart failure patients

Q: What are the key findings of this study?

A structured nurse-led telephone follow-up program was associated with significant improvements in quality of life and self-care scores over 6 months in patients with heart failure.

Q: What does this research mean for the field?

Nurse-led telephone support for heart failure patients post-discharge is associated with significant improvements in self-care behaviors and quality of life over 6 months, despite ongoing challenges with hospital readmissions. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

Q: What question did this study set out to answer?

To describe changes in self-care behaviors, hospital readmission rates, and quality of life following a nurse-led telephone-based follow-up after hospital discharge in patients with heart failure.

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Key result

Nurse-led telephone follow-up linked to ~42% improvement in heart failure quality of life.

P<0.001
n=120

Why the study?

Heart failure is associated with frequent hospitalizations and reduced quality of life, especially in older adults.

Population

120 heart failure patients discharged from Shahid Madani Teaching Hospital in Tabriz, Iran

Comparison

Nurse-led telephone-based follow-up

Design

Prospective descriptive longitudinal study

Follow-up

6 months

Authors

AEAyda EzatmandTabriz University of Medical Sciences AGAkram GhahramanianTabriz University of Medical Sciences ADArefeh DavoodiTabriz University of Medical Sciences

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Supports nurse-led telephone follow-up in heart failure discharge care; hypothesis-generating for randomized trials on readmissions.

Key Points

To describe changes in self-care behaviors, hospital readmission rates, and quality of life following a nurse-led telephone-based follow-up after hospital discharge in patients with heart failure.
Prospective descriptive longitudinal study of 120 heart failure patients discharged from Shahid Madani Teaching Hospital in Tabriz, Iran.
Data on self-care, quality of life, and readmissions were gathered at discharge, 3 months, and 6 months post-discharge using validated questionnaires and hospital records.
Repeated measures across timepoints were evaluated using Friedman tests and pairwise Wilcoxon signed-rank tests with Bonferroni correction (adjusted α = 0.0167).
Mean self-care scores improved from 34.07 ± 6.43 at discharge to 27.41 ± 7.11 at 3 months and 23.01 ± 6.36 at 6 months (χ² = 193.70, p < 0.001; lower scores indicate better self-care).
Quality of life scores improved significantly from 45.70 ± 15.03 at baseline to 34.55 ± 18.40 at 3 months and 26.43 ± 16.25 at 6 months (χ² = 164.41, p < 0.001; lower scores denote better quality of life).
Hospital readmission rates were 17.5% within the first month and reached a cumulative 25.8% at 6 months.

Study Design

Type

Observational (n=120)

Multicenter

Structured PICO

Population

120 adult patients with heart failure discharged from a single hospital in Iran were followed for 6 months to assess changes in self-care, quality of life, and readmissions.

Exposure

Nurse-led telephone-based follow-up conducted weekly, biweekly, or monthly based on clinical needs, providing tailored patient education and clinical assessment over 6 months.

Outcome

Quality of life assessed using the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) at 6 months post-dischargepatient reported

Main Result

Absolute Event Rate: 26.43% vs 45.7%

p-value: p=<0.001

A structured nurse-led telephone follow-up program for heart failure patients is associated with significant improvements in self-care behaviors and quality of life over 6 months, despite ongoing readmission risks.

Limitations

Conducted in a single educational hospital in Iran, limiting generalizability.
Lack of a control group, meaning causality cannot be established.
Short follow-up duration of six months.
Reliance on self-reported questionnaires to assess self-care behaviors and quality of life may introduce response bias and recall inaccuracies.
Lack of a control group to establish causal relationships
Convenience sampling method
Single-center study

Cite This Study

Ezatmand et al. (2026) conducted an observational in Heart failure (n=120). Nurse-led telephone-based follow-up vs. Baseline (discharge) was evaluated on Quality of life score (MLHFQ) (p=<0.001). A structured nurse-led telephone follow-up program was associated with significant improvements in quality of life and self-care scores over 6 months in patients with heart failure.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a51e4e6c18d7f28ca50171c https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-61682-5

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Changes in self-care, readmissions, and quality of life are associated with nurse-led telephone support in heart failure patients

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Study Design

Structured PICO

Main Result

Limitations

Cite This Study

Changes in self-care, readmissions, and quality of life are associated with nurse-led telephone support in heart failure patients

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Study Design

Structured PICO

Main Result

Limitations

Cite This Study

Also Consider

Also Consider