Health-related quality of life of patients with heart failure using noninvasive telemonitoring systems with and without visiting nursing support: A longitudinal observational study

Objective: This study aims to measure the health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) of patients with heart failure (HF) after using two types of telemonitoring (TM) tools and to evaluate which type of tool contributes to improving patient outcomes. Methods: We measured the HR-QOL and psychological status of patients with HF after using two types of TM systems (smartphone application or web-based), and the data from baseline to six months were compared. Results: A total of 24 patients with HF completed the study period of six months. The mean age of the participants was 60.58 ± 12.81 years, and 70.8% were male. The major differences between the study groups comprised support and access to home visit services. The physical HR-QOL scores increased significantly from baseline to six months in the web-based group (baseline vs. six months, 4.04 ± 1.02 vs. 4.58 ± 1.18, p =.034), but no significant difference (baseline vs. six months, 5.05 ± 1.00 vs. 5.20 ± 1.24, p =.410) was found in the smartphone application group. The mean scores for anxiety and depression in both groups were not significantly different. Conclusions: Using the TM system for patients with HF may improve global HR-QOL and psychological status. In addition, adding nursing support using a TM system may be more effective in improving patient-reported outcomes.