Perceptions of changes in practice patterns and patient care among heart failure nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background
The Coronavirus (COVID-19) had a profound impact on the delivery of care in both hospital and outpatient settings across the United States. Patients with heart failure (HF) and healthcare providers had to abruptly adapt.

Objective
To describe how the COVID-19 pandemic affected practice patterns of HF nurses.

Methods
Practicing HF nurses completed a cross-sectional, anonymous, web-based survey of perceptions of HF practice. Analyses involved descriptive and comparative statistics.

Results
Of 171 nurses who completed surveys, outpatient HF visits decreased and 63.2% added telehealth visits. Despite spending about 29 min educating patients during visits, 27.5% of nurses perceived that the pandemic decreased patients’ abilities to provide optimal self-care. Nurses reported decreased ability to collect objective data (62.4%; n = 78), although subjective assessment stayed the same (41.6%; n = 52).

Conclusion
Nurses’ practice patterns provided insight into patient care changes made during COVID-19. Most core components of HF management were retained, but methods of delivery during the pandemic differed.