Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

Committee Chair

Rebecca Beck-Little

Abstract

Congestive heart failure is a chronic condition where the heart no longer pumps adequate blood and oxygen to bodily organs. CHF is a chronic condition that affects millions of people on a yearly basis. Common diseases that cause CHF are coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. CHF patients face many compilations that affect their daily activities. Along with morbidity CHF has major financial implications because much of the cost associated with CHF healthcare is avoidable. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of monitoring congestive heart failure across the healthcare continuum with application to the Corbin and Strauss trajectory model of chronic illness. The research hypothesis is that monitoring CHF across the healthcare continuum effects CHF readmission rates.

This study was conducted at a large medical university hospital. The sample size includes a random selection of 100 consecutive CHF admission occurrences. Retrospective data was reviewed using a chart audit tool. Data included in the review were admission dates, discharge dates, readmission dates if applicable, disposition and, financial class. Data analysis for the study was done by using a chi-squared test. The dependent variables in the study were readmission in 30 days or less compared to no readmission in 30 days or less. The null hypothesis for the chi-squared test is there is no relationship between readmissions and care across the continuum. The study failed to reject H 0 at 5% of level of significance.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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