Introduction
The issue that is going to be reviewed within the framework of the current research paper is patient education. The latter is a rather complex problem that has to be recognized by doctors, nurses, and other individuals involved in the provision of healthcare. Patient education is essential, and it has to be conveyed in a number of different ways in order to outline the key points both visually and verbally.
In this case, the patient will be able to gain access to the most important primary and secondary aspects of education. Nonetheless, this issue requires more attention because it is not considered as important as other aspects of nursing. Overall, it is hypothesized that a well-educated patient can seriously contribute to the current state of affairs in nursing and improve their own health outcomes.
This assumption is based on the idea that the majority of preventional measures and health improvements are subject to proper patient education and engage the latter in the process of solving problems. Within the framework of the current literature review, it is expected that the hypothesis will be verified and the researcher will identify a number of ways that can contribute to a more active patient participation in healthcare processes and the creation of an empowered and educated patient community. The following literature review is expected to answer these questions and validate the hypothesis.
Literature Review
The aim of Friberg, Granum, and Bergh’s (2012) research was to assess the conditional factors that impacted the relationships between nurses and clients in terms of patient education. They conducted an extensive literature review so as to integrate their findings into the framework of their own research. Friberg et al. (2012) identified that patient education significantly contributed to collegial teamwork and patient activities that led to the expansion of beliefs and knowledge attainment.
The model developed by the researchers included a number of essential aspects that supported the importance of patient education. Friberg et al. (2012) found that the level of patient-centeredness positively influenced patients’ willingness to engage in educational activities. They also concluded that nursing ethics and safe care environment are the key two aspects that had to be included in the indispensable requirements of any educational model. According to Friberg et al. (2012), nurses should serve as a supportive instrument in healthcare that is responsible for providing patients with vital knowledge regarding the health issues of the latter.
In their research project, Shin, Park, and Kim (2015) were keen on identifying the benefits of implementing an educational intervention that included a multimedia interactive DVD. They tested this method on the patients with end-stage renal disease with the intention of improving their decision-making skills and expanding their knowledge regarding the disorder. Shin et al. (2015) also stated that they were interested in decreasing uncertainty in those patients. According to the findings of the study, the experimental group displayed significant improvements in terms of knowledge. They showed less uncertainty and decision regret (Shin et al., 2015).
Those scores of the experimental group were suggestively lower than the scores of the control group counterparts. The issue investigated by Shin et al. (2015) is closely connected to clinical practice because it shows that the use of multimedia interactive DVDs is rather efficient and can meaningfully improve patients’ knowledge and reduce the level of uncertainty in patients with the end-stage renal disease. The authors of the article claimed that such approach could be employed within any given healthcare setting.
In the research project conducted by Tamura-Lis (2013), the core concept of patient education was reviewed. She focused on evaluating the possibility of performing patient follow-up and implementing the teach-back method. Tamura-Lis (2013) wanted to see if it was effective and could reinforce knowledge. She advocated for the consistent use of follow-ups (including phone calls and visits).
Conclusions made by Tamura-Lis (2013) hint at the fact that patient satisfaction and quality of care should be the main indicators of the necessity of implementing teach-back. In other words, there was a direct connection between the effectiveness of patient education and the basic concepts of holistic care. Health care literacy could be increased significantly by means of teach-back because it improved patients’ communication skills and elicited the willingness to participate in different health-promoting activities. Tamura-Lis (2013) concluded by saying that patient education is the essential aspect of care that defines the quality of proposed interventions.
Koivunen, Huhtasalo, Makkonen, Valimaki, and Hatonen (2012) conducted a study in order to find out if nurses’ expectations regarding their roles in patient education correlated to patients’ view of healthcare. This study took place within a psychiatric inpatient care environment (Koivunen et al., 2012). The researchers used qualitative design to collect and analyze the data. The core concept of the study was to organize two groups that will participate in the process of implementing a systematic model of patient education – an IT-based one and a conventional education scheme.
When analyzing the data, Koivunen et al. (2012) were able to identify that nurses’ role in these two environments were rather different, but the inherent concept remained the same – nurses had to act as collaborators, learners, and knowledgeable teachers. The researchers concluded that every particular situation requires a custom role so that the nurse could be in line with the mental status and interests of their patient (Koivunen et al., 2012).
Within the environment of a psychiatric hospital, patient education is critically important because the roles of healthcare providers have to overlap individual patients’ needs. This led Koivunen et al. (2012) to the idea that information technology can significantly facilitate the process of patient education. They claimed that even patient inequality and isolation could be removed by means of IT-based interventions.
According to Bozimowski (2012), appropriate patient teaching strategies are the key to having an understanding of patients’ needs and perceptions. He stated that the creation of a simplified educational tool could seriously contribute to positive patient outcomes. In this research project, Bozimowski (2012) was keen on identifying if nurses’ perception of pain management was in line with patients’ reports regarding their satisfaction with the quality of provided care.
Also, he addressed patients’ level of satisfaction associated with the type of intervention proposed by nurses in terms of the pain management plan developed by the latter. Bozimowski (2012) validated the idea that patient satisfaction was one of the key criteria responsible for adequate treatment and concluded that the effectiveness of any given healthcare facility could be evaluated on the basis of the level of patient education that is provided to clients.
Conclusion
On the basis of the information presented in the literature review conducted within the framework of the current research paper, it can be concluded that patient education has to be considered one of the key aspects of nursing care that is founded on holistic principles. It was found that patient education promotes self-care and empowers patients to behave in a much more different way so as to adhere to the principles of healthy life and easy recovery process.
It may be safe to say that patient education plays the central role in the process of care at all stages from prevention to treatment. It was found that both clients and their families can be provided with the information that could critically impact the treatment process and increase awareness among all the actors involved in healthcare processes. The concept of optimal health also can be promoted by means of patient education.
This hints at the idea that nurses have to acknowledge the importance of an all-inclusive patient education. Knowing that ineffective education is one of the most impactful issues inherent in the existing health care, we should reduce the number of patient complaints by means of providing a better-structured educational program to every patient. This task is going to be rather challenging, but it will influence all of the aspects of healthcare.
To conclude, it may be mentioned that there are numerous obstacles that critically reduce the chances of providing a high-quality education to the patients. These obstacles include the lack of knowledge, confidence, and clinical experience. Based on the reviewed information, it may be claimed that nurses’ responsibility can be increased by means of patient education while the concept of self-care can be perceived as a catalyst to the independence of healthcare clients. Overall, the improvements in terms of patient education skills will affect every individual involved in the process of healthcare provision.
References
Bozimowski, G. (2012). Patient perceptions of pain management therapy: A comparison of real-time assessment of patient education and satisfaction and registered nurse perceptions. Pain Management Nursing, 13(4), 186-193.
Friberg, F., Granum, V., & Bergh, A. L. (2012). Nurses’ patient‐education work: Conditional factors–an integrative review. Journal of Nursing Management, 20(2), 170-186.
Koivunen, M., Huhtasalo, J., Makkonen, P., Valimaki, M., & Hatonen, H. (2012). Nurses’ roles in systematic patient education sessions in psychiatric nursing. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 19(6), 546-554.
Shin, S., Park, J. H., & Kim, J. H. (2015). Effectiveness of patient simulation in nursing education: Meta-analysis. Nurse Education Today, 35(1), 176-182.
Tamura-Lis, W. (2013). Teach-back for quality education and patient safety. Urologic Nursing, 33(6), 267.