Development and Evaluation of 'My Voice': A Randomized Controlled Trial

The research study consists of 3 phases:

• Usability testing - to assess the usability of 'My Voice' with patients with heart failure, their caregivers and healthcare providers,
• Pilot testing - to test the feasibility of implementation and workflow of 'My Voice' and the survey questionnaires with a small group of participants and,
• Randomized controlled trial- to evaluate the effectiveness of 'My Voice' with a control group who do not receive the intervention in improving patient outcomes

Inclusion criteria

• The inclusion criteria for patients are

• Age ≥ 21 years old
• Singaporean or Permanent Resident
• Diagnosed with heart failure
• Symptoms classified under NYHA class II (with an ejection fraction of less than or equal to 35%), III or IV
• Intact cognition determined through the Abbreviated Mental Test (AMT) (for pilot testing and main RCT)
• Ability to speak and read English, Mandarin or Malay
• Willing to complete a web intervention
• Easily contactable via mobile phone or landline
• Have a permanent address in Singapore for at least the next 1 year
• Not recruited in a previous phase of the study

The inclusion criteria for caregivers are

• Age ≥ 21 years old
• Nominated as a healthcare spokesperson by the patient or the main decision maker for the patient (for intervention arm only)
• Ability to speak and read English, Mandarin or Malay
• Willing to complete a web intervention
• Easily contactable via mobile phone or landline
• Have a permanent address in Singapore for at least the next 1 year

Exclusion criteria

for caregivers are:

a) domestic helper