PONE-D-24-23011A qualitative exploration of the educational needs of people living with heart failure: BANDAIDD-Explore study.PLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Ferguson,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

The study is well-written and supports existing evidence regarding educational gaps for heart failure patients. However, some minor revisions should be addressed before proceeding with publication.

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Kind regards,

Francesca Ferrè

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Partly

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: N/A

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3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: The study from Ferguson and colleagues presents a qualitative exploration of the educational needs of individuals living with heart failure (HF), their caregivers, and cardiovascular clinicians in New South Wales, Australia. This study identifies key themes regarding educational gaps and proposes improvements for patient-centered education to enhance self-management and overall care.

The study is well-written and interesting with some minor revisions that should be considered by the authors:

Abstract

Line 88: "Priorities identified for heart failure education include: timing of education, tailoring education to support the diverse needs of patients and the importance of continuity of care." The colon after "include" should be checked for consistency with other lists in the manuscript.

Introduction

Line 94: "Heart failure (HF) is a common, progressive, and debilitating syndrome affecting approximately 64 million people worldwide (1)." Consider rephrasing to "Heart failure (HF) is a common, progressive, and debilitating syndrome, affecting approximately 64 million people worldwide (1)."

Line 96: "In Australia, 1.5-2% of the national health expenditure is contributed by HF with hospital admissions accounting for two-thirds of these costs (2)." This could be clearer as "In Australia, HF contributes 1.5-2% of the national health expenditure, with hospital admissions accounting for two-thirds of these costs (2)."

Include explicit research questions or hypotheses

Methods

Line 134: "Purposive sampling was used to recruit cardiovascular clinicians, people living with HF and their caregivers." This might read better as "Purposive sampling was used to recruit cardiovascular clinicians, people living with HF, and their caregivers."

Line 138: "Community-dwelling adults living with HF and their caregivers were invited to participate through study posters placed in the HF outpatient clinics of participating hospitals." Consider rephrasing for clarity.

Provide more detail on the coding process and consensus-building in thematic analysis.

Results

Line 178: "Seven key themes were identified: (i) Understanding and reinforcing the signs and symptoms, self-management, medications, and prognosis and severity of HF; (ii) Providing concise and timely education; (iii) Building trust and relationships (iv) Accessibility of education to support patient needs; (v) Engaging family members and informal caregivers; (vi) Tailoring education to patients diverse needs; and (vi) Navigating the health system and dealing with continuity of care." Correct the repeated "vi" and ensure all themes are consistently listed with punctuation.

Discussion

Conclusion

Line 531: "The clinical implications of this work are to prioritise self-management." Consider rephrasing to "The clinical implications of this work emphasize the prioritization of self-management."

Emphasize the broader implications of the findings for policy in the Australian context and elsewhere.

For the COREQ checklist many items are listed as NA, please check if it is possible to add this information in th text, otherwise state them as limits of the study.

The study can benefit from a central figure highlighting the seven themes emerged in the analysis

State clearly that tables 1 and 2 are in supplementary materials.

Reviewer #2: Great subject in particular knowing that patients in your country can get home visits. Interesting that you collected data from the healthcare providers, patient with HF and their caregiver, so this provides a better understanding of each one experience with this disease. Your manuscript is relevant for anyone delivering care to these patients.

it is recommended to add more details/emphasis about the mHealth as it should be added to the discussion/results; more information and evidence are available in particular with HF patients in the Canadian context.

the methodology lacks information about the types of questions you did ask because you were targeting 2 different types of respondents/participants. in addition, you did not complete all the steps or rather explain ensuring the rigor of your analysis.

The abstract does not have the purpose of the study as you start right away with the methodology; details about the purpose should be added.

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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A qualitative exploration of the educational needs of people living with heart failure: BANDAIDD-Explore study.

PONE-D-24-23011R1

Dear Dr. Ferguson,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

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Kind regards,

Francesca Ferrè

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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