Objective: Health literacy is increasingly recognised as a potentially important patient characteristic related to patient education efforts. We evaluated whether health literacy would predict gains in knowledge after completion of patient education in cardiac rehabilitation. Method: This was a re-post observational analysis study design based on…

A randomized controlled trial of two formats of a program (Women Take PRIDE) to enhance management of heart disease by patients was conducted. Older women (N = 575) were randomly assigned to a group or self-directed format or to a control group. Data regarding symptoms, functional health status, and weight were collected at baseline and at 4, 12,…

Context/Purpose: Most rural hospitals can provide medical care to acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients, but a need for advanced cardiac care requires timely transfer to a tertiary hospital. There is little information on AMI in-hospital mortality predictors among rural transfer patients. Methods: Cross-sectional retrospective analyses on…

Addresses the extent to which discharge plans for elderly patients with congestive heart failure were implemented as planned, tested the consequences of implementation problems, and identified factors associated with implementation problems. Implications for hospital discharge planners and home health care are discussed. (KW)

Older persons (55 years and older) with cardiovascular disease are at increased risk for hospital readmission when compared to other subgroups of our population. This issue presents an economic problem, a concern for the quality and type of care provided, and an urgent need to implement innovative strategies designed to reduce the rising cost of…

Purpose: In our study, we sought to improve the accuracy of predicting the risk of hospitalization and to identify older, inner-city patients who could be targeted for preventive interventions. Design and Methods: Participants (56% were African American) in a randomized trial were from a primary care practice and included 1,041 patients living in…