Care Needs of Patients with Heart Failure: A Systematic Review

Background/Aim. Heart failure is the leading public health concern as its prevalence increases and the cost of care increases dramatically due to poor prognosis. Ineffective disease management can increase morbidity and lead to repeated hospitalizations. The aim of this systematic review was to determine the care needs of patients treated for heart failure. Methods. The databases of PubMed, Medline, Scopus, Cochrane, Google Scholar, and Persian databases including SID, Iran Medex, and Magiran were searched until January 2022 to identify relevant articles. The included studies were descriptive, analytical, cross-sectional and qualitative studies, which were conducted on care needs and heart failure disease. Out of 1,199 relevant published studies, a total of 16 studies were finally systematically reviewed. The quality of the articles was assessed by three researchers using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). The data were analyzed qualitatively. Results. Sixteen studies involving 53,299 heart failure patients were included in the study. The findings from researches indicated a moderate to high level of unmet needs in the area of care which consists of health care needs, educational and learning needs, emotional, social and psychological needs and support, counselling and home care services and some special needs for women. Conclusion. This study highlights the need for provision of care in several areas and these require need assessment, management, decision -making, and care planning. Importantly, the provision of a support system to help patients cope during illness and bereavement is necessary.