Nurse-led heart failure clinics: Swedish experiences of Advanced Nursing Practice during 10 years

Abstract

This paper aims at describing the development of nurse-led heart failure clinics in Sweden and discusses what effects and possibilities this type of advanced nursing practice gives the patients, the health care system and the nurses. Follow-up at nurse-led heart failure clinics involve patient education, optimised treatment and social support and has been shown to improve survival and self-care behaviour in patients with heart failure and reduce the need for hospital care. This model of care has spread from Sweden to many European countries, but still only a minority of the patients hospitalised due to heart failure receive this type of follow-up. It should be considered for several more patients in Europe. The organisation of the nurse-led follow-up needs to be adapted to the different needs of patients within the heart failure population and to the health care system of each country. Formal competence among heart failure nurses needs to be continuously improved in order to provide high-quality care to heart failure patients. This can be achieved through improved education and increased national and international collaboration among heart failure nurses. Networking among heart failure nurses on a regional, national and international level is crucial. Joint activities such as study visits, national and international working groups, conferences, workshops and research collaboration can be important tools in this development.