Effects of a Multimedia Symptom Management Program on Coping Strategies, Symptom Distress, Depressive Status, and Quality of Life in Patients With Heart Failure: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Design A single-blind two-group longitudinal experimental study will be conducted to compare a Multimedia Symptom Management Program with a usual care.

After receiving informed consents, participants will be randomly assigned to intervention and control groups at a 1:1 ratio. The intervention group will receive a Multimedia Symptom Management Program; the control group will receive usual care. Outcomes from four self-report questionnaires at 1 month and 3 months after initiating the intervention will be compared to baseline assessments. Outcome measurements include the following parameters: 28-item Brief COPE, Cardiac Symptom Survey (CSS), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ).

Inclusion and exclusion criteria The inclusion criteria are: (1) those who are ≥20 years old and HF diagnosed by a cardiology specialist, (2) have clear consciousness, (3) are fluent in Mandarin/Taiwanese. The exclusion criteria are: (1) diagnosed with any psychiatric disorder, (2) are addicting to drugs or alcohol at the time of the study, (3) are undergoing other psychotherapy during the study and (4) are refusing to participate in the study.

Recruitment Participants will be recruited from a cardiology outpatient clinic of a medical center in northern Taiwan. The study design and protocols had been reviewed and approved by the institutional review board of the participating hospital. At the content session, all assessments and procedures will be fully explained.

Assessment of eligibility and randomisation Participants will be considered eligible if they meet the inclusion criteria. All participants will be informed that they are able to withdraw from the study at any time. Before randomisation, participants will be asked to answer five questionnaires. The questionnaires include demographic characteristics, 28-item Brief COPE, Cardiac Symptom Survey (CSS), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ). Participants will be randomly assigned to either the intervention group or the control group at a 1:1 ratio; randomization will be performed with the use of a computer-generated randomization scheme (SPSS software Version 23.0).