Abstract
Background: As a leading source of hospitalizations among patients over age 65, heart failure patients are a considerable consumer of healthcare resources, creating a substantial burden on the country’s healthcare system. The cost of heart failure has risen from an approximate 44.6 billion dollars in 2015 to a projected 97 billion dollars in 2030. Compared to the oncology patient population, little descriptive data is available for heart failure patients receiving palliative care. In clinical practice, a main area of concern remains in the delayed referral process of patients to palliative care, which in turn negatively impacts their overall quality of life. Objective: The specific aim of this project was to determine the impact of a palliative care protocol on the overall quality of life of heart failure patients admitted to a home-based palliative care program in Southwest Florida. Results: The standard palliative care interventions were noted to have improved symptoms such as dyspnea, pain control, and anxiety for the patients. Monthly follow-ups showed an improvement in overall IPOS scores, reflecting a sense of positivity and hopefulness regarding the palliative care program and symptom control. Conclusions: This evidence-based project evaluated the effectiveness of palliative care services on HF patients in the home care setting. Given the small sample size, this project should be repeated in a larger sample or in another setting such as skilled nursing facilities or other chronic conditions such as COPD to improve quality of life of patients; BSN to DNP