Patient education in Western European hospitals: a comparison of the Netherlands, Flanders and England

Application of Audio Education in Respiratory Medicine Wards

Improving the efficiency of patient education can help improve patient's satisfaction and alleviate the pressure of nurse shortage. This study aimed to develop and pilot an educational audio to improve the effectiveness of inpatient education. A primary literature review was conducted and educational materials were written and recorded by MP3. A pilot study was conducted in 713 adult patients in the department of respiratory medicine at a large urban Shanghai teaching hospital. Patients in the experimental group showed greater satisfaction with their health education. For the education to be effective during the admission, the asthma patients in the experimental group spent less time in face-to-face communication. The feedback rate for disease education among asthma patients in the experimental group was significantly higher. Wider applications of audio in patient education may be valuable to better adjust to nurse reduction and to improve nursing service quality.

Nurses’ Patient Education Questionnaire – development and validation process

Conditions for nurses’ daily patient education work are unclear and require clarification. The aim was to develop and validate the Nurses’ Patient Education Questionnaire, a questionnaire that assesses nurses’ perceptions of appropriate conditions for patient education work: what nurses say they actually do and what they think about what they do. The questionnaire was developed from a literature review, resulting in the development of five domains. This was followed by ‘cognitive interviewing’ with 14 nurses and dialogue with 5 pedagogical experts. The five domains were identified as significant for assessing nurses’ beliefs and knowledge; education environment; health care organisation; interdisciplinary cooperation and collegial teamwork; and patient education activities. A content validity index was used for agreement of relevance and consensus of items by nurses ( n = 10). The total number of items in the final questionnaire is 60, consisting of demographic items, what nurses report they do and perceptions about patient education in daily work. The questionnaire can be used by managers and nurses to identify possibilities and barriers to patient education in different care contexts.

Patient education practices in psychiatric hospital wards: a national survey in Finland

BACKGROUND

Despite the fact that patients' receiving of information is one of the fundamental rights of patients, there is still limited information available on how patient education is carried out in psychiatric healthcare organizations.

AIMS

The aim of this study was to describe patient education practices in adult acute psychiatric hospitals.

METHODS

A descriptive questionnaire survey was administered in all adult acute psychiatric wards in Finland. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and qualitative content analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 55 head nurses participated in the study (response rate 60%). The content of patient education covered almost all investigated informational areas and patient education was mostly carried out orally and with leaflets. However, patients' individual needs for certain communication methods were not met. Moreover, staff rarely received adequate on-the-job training. In the study wards, there were only few systematic procedures and instructions regarding patient education. Problems relating to the delivery of patient education were described in four themes: patients' poor condition, lack of staff resources, discrepancies in procedures and poor operational conditions.

CONCLUSION

Patient education in psychiatric hospitals covers the informational areas investigated. However, there are numerous quality gaps in the realization of patient education in psychiatric hospitals. The results of this study suggest that to ensure patients' right to receive information, specific guidelines and instructions are needed for psychiatric patients. These guidelines and instructions should thoroughly consider different domains of patient education including content, communication methods, definition of patient's individual needs and delivery personnel.

A history of patient education by health professionals in Europe and North America: from authority to shared decision making education

OBJECTIVE

This paper describes the development of patient education from the 1960s until now and identifies future challenges to improve patient education.

RESULTS

Patient education developed from the health care professional deciding what the patient needed to know to a shared decision making design where physician and patient are equally influential on the decision making process. The development of patient education is described for primary and secondary health care, as well as the impact of biomedical advances, an ageing population and cultural diversity on patient education. Some of the challenges for future patient education are identified: training health professionals as well as patients, involvement of the patient's social environment and application of e-Health techniques to patient education.

CONCLUSION

Patient education has made several developmental changes, has spread to different settings in health care and has now finally established itself as a valuable part of health care for patients. Nevertheless, both patients and health professionals still need to be provided with skills to optimize patient education. A good science-practice fit for future interventions to facilitate patient education is paramount.

PRACTICE IMPLICATION

Lessons from the past of patient education are important for the growth and future development of patient education.