Telematic Educational Intervention in Patients With Heart Failure. (TEACH)

January 5, 2026 updated by: Maria Jose Santi Cano

Effectiveness of a Telematic Educational Intervention in Improving Self-care Levels in Patients With Heart Failure

Background: Heart Failure (HF) is one of the most prevalent pathologies in Western countries, representing a significant percentage of their healthcare expenditure. Much of the success of specialised programmes for the control and treatment of this pathology is achieved within Heart Failure Units. These programmes are based on enhancing patients' capacity to perform effective self-care. Self-care in heart failure involves several aspects: maintaining healthy lifestyle habits, monitoring signs and symptoms of decompensation, controlling blood pressure, heart rate, and body weight, and the ability to manage potential decompensations either autonomously or by seeking available healthcare services.

Heart failure units carry out structured therapeutic education for these patients through individualized, face-to-face educational interventions upon admission to the unit, placing special emphasis on training patients and their caregivers in effective self-care. However, studies show that the level of self-care among HF patients remains low. Furthermore, the new healthcare reality following the pandemic situation necessitates the search for strategies that facilitate better time management while improving the self-care capacity of HF patients. Within this clinical context, it is necessary to seek alternatives that allow for the provision of adequate quality of care while overcoming the obstacles imposed by the current situation.

Objective: The objective of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a telematics-based educational intervention, in addition to the standard standardised educational intervention, in self-care in patients in the Heart Failure Unit six months after admission.

Methodology: A randomised clinical trial design with parallel groups (intervention and control) will be applied. The study sample, consisting of 50 patients in each group, will be recruited from patients treated in the Heart Failure Unit of the University Hospital. All patients and their caregivers (if applicable) in both groups will receive the same individualised educational intervention. The patients assigned to the intervention group will also receive a telematics-based educational intervention through video call through the WhatsApp messaging application three months after the initial face-to-face intervention.

The study variables will include sociodemographic and physiological data, adherence to pharmacological treatment, immunisations, dietary assessment, physical exercise assessment, number and management of decompensations, self-care levels and quality of life. After six months in the heart failure unit, all patients in both groups will be reassessed using the same instruments and the statistical differences between the groups will be analysed. The primary outcome variable will be the level of self-care, measured by the European Heart Failure Self-care Behaviour Scale.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Enrolling by invitation

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
100

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Spain
    • Cádiz
      • Cadiz, Cádiz, Spain, 11009
        • University Hospital of Jerez

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adults over 18 years of age.
  • Clinical diagnosis of heart failure class II, III and IV.
  • Ejection fraction less than or equal to 35%.
  • Those who have a smartphone that allows video calls.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with impaired cognitive ability, meaning they cannot follow basic self-care and education guidelines.
  • Patients with acute heart failure that can be resolved by treating the underlying cause.
  • Patients with high comorbidity, where non-cardiac conditions pose a greater risk and have a worse prognosis than heart failure itself.
  • Patients enrolled in any other clinical trial.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
No Intervention: Control
Experimental: Digital health
Behavioral: Digital health
Education through mHealth

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
European Heart Failure Self-Care Behaviour Scale
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of intervention at 6 months
It consists of a 12-item self-administered questionnaire that addresses different aspects of patient self-care. It is scored using a Likert scale from 1 (strongly agree/always) to 5 (strongly disagree/never). This allows for the classification of the overall self-care level within the following ranges: low (44-60), medium (28-43), and high (12-27).
From enrollment to the end of intervention at 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Maria Jose Santi Cano

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 7, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
March 7, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
June 7, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
December 19, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 19, 2025

First Posted (Estimated)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
January 5, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
January 8, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 5, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • PI-25-07-2024

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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