Abstract Background Patient education is a cornerstone of heart failure (HF) management, yet its effectiveness across different care settings and educational backgrounds remains variably reported. Objective To evaluate the impact of a brief, standardized heart failure education intervention on patient knowledge among hospitalized acute decompensated HF (ADHF) patients and stable outpatient HF patients across multiple centres. Methods This retrospective, multicentre study included adult HF patients from five centres who underwent routine HF education between pre- and post-knowledge assessments. Patients completed a 10-item HF knowledge questionnaire immediately before and after a standardized 10-minute education session delivered by staff nurses and physicians. Both inpatient ADHF and stable outpatient HF populations were included. Changes in item-level correctness were assessed using McNemar’s test, while total score differences were analyzed overall and by clinical setting and educational level. Results A total of 165 patients were analyzed (52 inpatients with ADHF and 113 stable outpatients). Significant improvements were observed across all 10 knowledge items following education (all p < 0.001). Mean total scores increased from 7.08 ± 2.43 pre-education to 9.11 ± 1.36 post-education, yielding a mean difference of 2.03 (95% CI 1.75–2.31; p < 0.001). Inpatients demonstrated greater knowledge gains than outpatients (mean difference 2.94 vs. 1.61, respectively; both p < 0.001). Knowledge gains were observed across all educational levels, with the largest improvements among patients with no formal education (mean difference 3.11, 95% CI 2.52–3.71) and progressively smaller gains from primary to tertiary education. Conclusion In this five-centre retrospective analysis, a brief, 10-minute HF education session delivered by nurses and physicians significantly improved HF knowledge across inpatient and outpatient populations and across all educational levels. Short, structured educational interventions can be effectively implemented during routine care, with particularly strong benefits among hospitalized and less-educated patients.
