Date of Award
Summer 7-22-2025
Document Type
Scholarly Project
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
First Advisor
Dr. David Liguori, DNP, ARNP, NP-C
Abstract
Practice Problem: Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a significant public health challenge that impacts various populations and contributes to rising hospital admission rates.
PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this scholarly project was: For healthcare policymakers and interprofessional teams (P), how does a policy review of the American Heart Association’s Clinical Practice Guidelines for Heart Failure (I), guided by the CDC’s Polaris Framework (C), conducted over a 12-week period (T), evaluate alignment with evidence-based practices and potential for adoption in the care of patients with congestive heart failure (O)?
Evidence: This scholarly project focused on reviewing the current clinical guidelines for the management of congestive heart failure as outlined by the American Heart Association (AHA), guided by the CDC’s Polaris Framework.
Outcome: Three themes emerged from the policy review: the reduction of hospital readmission rates, the use of appropriate Guideline-Directed Medical Therapy (GDMT) initiation, and the incorporation of other toolkits. Appropriate implementation, early recognition, and intervention can significantly decrease rehospitalization, potentially saving organizations between $424,764 and $698,733.
Conclusion: This policy review serves as a valuable resource for future implementation efforts, providing insight into how the AHA guidelines impact patient care and long-term disease management. It is recommended that healthcare organizations further integrate these guidelines by reinforcing guideline education, optimizing GDMT use, and ensuring comprehensive patient compliance.
Recommended Citation
Garcia, B. E. (2025). Policy Review of the AHA Clinical Practice Guideline for Congestive Heart Failure: Evaluating Best Practices. [Doctoral project, University of St Augustine for Health Sciences]. SOAR @ USA: Student Scholarly Projects Collection. https://doi.org/10.46409/sr.PXHU5859
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Comments
Scholarly project submitted to the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Nursing Practice.