Examining the Relationship Between Pharmaceutical Care and Quality of Life in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure in South South Nigeria

Chronic heart failure is associated with impaired quality of life and frequent hospitalisation, and the contribution of structured pharmaceutical care to quality of life improvement in Nigerian heart failure patients represents an underexamined clinical question. This study examined the relationship between pharmaceutical care intensity and health-related quality of life in chronic heart failure patients at teaching hospitals in Bayelsa and Rivers States. A cross-sectional analytical design was employed, involving 165 patients with NYHA class II-III heart failure who had been under outpatient follow-up for at least six months. Pharmaceutical care intensity was measured using a structured pharmacist care activity frequency questionnaire across seven care domains. Quality of life was assessed using the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ), with lower scores indicating better quality of life. Multivariable linear regression was used to assess the relationship between pharmaceutical care intensity and MLHFQ scores after controlling for confounders. Results showed that higher pharmaceutical care intensity was significantly associated with improved MLHFQ total scores (beta = -8.4; 95 percent CI -12.1 to -4.7; p < 0.001). Medication adherence counselling and self-monitoring of weight were the pharmaceutical care activities with the strongest independent associations with quality of life. Only 34.5 percent of patients received high-intensity pharmaceutical care. The study fills an analytical evidence gap and provides quantified associations between pharmaceutical care intensity and quality of life in Nigerian heart failure patients, supporting pharmacist integration into heart failure management teams. Keywords: pharmaceutical care, heart failure, quality of life, MLHFQ, South South Nigeria