Patient education
Patient education is a planned interactive learning process designed to support and enable expert patients[1] to manage their life with a disease and/or optimise their health and well-being.[2][3]
Overview
Education may be provided by any healthcare professional who has undertaken appropriate training education, education on patient communication and education is usually included in the healthcare professional's training. However, further training is required to develop specialist skills needed to facilitate self-management and behaviour change.[3][4] Patient Education can often be more effective in Patient comprehension that things such as medication guides.[5] Many institutions are calling for courses in educating medical students in Technical Communication to promote Patient Education and the subsequent benefits thereof.[6]
Benefits
Important elements of patient education are skill building and responsibility: patients need to know when, how, and why they need to make a lifestyle change. Group effort is equally important: each member of the patient's health care team needs to be involved. It can also help the patients by a better lifestyle, it gives them the ability to learn new information.[citation needed]
The value of patient education can be summarized as follows:
- Improved understanding of medical condition, diagnosis, disease, or disability.
- Improved understanding of methods and means to manage multiple aspects of medical condition.
- Improved self-advocacy in deciding to act both independently from medical providers and in interdependence with them.
- Improved initiative in voicing concerns over medication delivery, risks, and dosages with a physician.[5]
- Improve trust between a patient and their provider through effective and clear communication.[5]
- Increased adherence – Effective communication and patient education increases patient motivation to adhere to treatments.
- Patient outcomes – Patients more likely to respond well to their treatment plan – fewer complications.
- Informed consent – Patients feel you've provided the information they need to make informed decisions[8]
- Empowered to make shared decision - Patients understanding of the evidence of benefits and risks of interventions, helps them to truly weigh the trade-offs they are (un)willing to make.[9]
- Increased health literacy and confidence to navigate the health systems.[10]
- Utilization – More effective use of medical services – fewer unnecessary phone calls and visits.[10]
- Satisfaction and referrals – Patients more likely to stay with your practice and refer other patients.[11]
- Risk Management – Lower risk of malpractice when patients have realistic expectations.[12]
- Race and health – Target education to help reduce the disproportionate burden on populations at increase risk of mortailty.[13]
Health Educators
The competencies of a
- Incorporate a personal ethic in regards to social responsibilities and services towards others.
- Provide accurate, competent, and evidence-based care.
- Practice preventive health care.
- Focus on relationship-centered care with individuals and their families.
- Incorporate the multiple determinants of health when providing care.
- Be culturally sensitiveand be open to a diverse society.
- Use technology appropriately and effectively.
- Be current in the field and continue to advance education.
Outcomes
There are many areas where patient education can improve the outcomes of treatment.
- For example, in patients with amputations, patient education has been shown to be effective when approached from all angles by the healthcare team (nurse, primary care physician, prosthetist, physical therapist, occupational therapist etc.). Support groups have been shown to be a helpful method for dealing with depression in this population. Preoperative patient education helped patients with their decision-making process by informing them of factors related to pain, limb loss, and functional restriction faced after amputation.[15]
- In the case of arthritis, patient education was found to be administered through three methods, including individual face to face meetings with healthcare professionals, patient groups, online support programs. Category I evidence was found for individual, face to face counselling. Meeting with rheumatologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, nurses, and other healthcare providers was found to be effective in creating adherence to treatment, medication, and for improving overall patient health.[3][16]
- In the case of rheumatoid arthritis, patient education has been shown as an effective non-pharmacological treatment.[17] It is recommended that patient education should be the start point and underpin all self-management interventions.[18][4]
- The role of patient organisations in providing support and structured guidance for people with arthritis is widely valued by professionals[18] and patients.[19]
- It is important to consider patient factors that may help improve outcomes of patient education patient. These are patient activation, illness perceptions, anxiety, participants’ knowledge about their condition, engagement with routine check-ups and positive health behaviours.[20][21][22][23][24][25] These factors may be also be targets for patient education.
See also
- Expert Patient Programme
- Compliance (medicine)
- Cultural competence in healthcare
- Green prescription
- Managed care
- Medical writing
- Orem model of nursing
Footnotes
- S2CID 315598. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ "iv. Patient Education and Counseling for Prevention". Archived from the original on April 21, 2014.
- ^ S2CID 2370392.
- ^ S2CID 249521050.
- ^ a b c White, Matthew (Fall 2019). "A Disconnect in the Process and Understanding of Prescription Medications" (PDF). Xchanges.org.
- ^ a b Angeli, Elizabeth; Campbell, Lillian (Spring 2023). "Designing "Writing for Health and Medicine": Course arcs, anchors, and action" (PDF). Programmatic Perspectives. 14 (1): 165–174 – via cptcs.ord.
- ISBN 0-8342-1726-0
- ISBN 9781535875486.
- PMID 35459751.
- ^ S2CID 27792650.
- ^ "Krames Patient Education". Archived from the original on 2000-10-14. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
- ^ "Home". X-Plain Patient Education.
- S2CID 247106044.
- ^ Bastable, Susan B. (2011). Health Professionals as Educator. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Barlett Learning, LLC. p. 6.
- PMID 24726790.
- ISSN 1462-0324.
- PMID 24840205.
- ^ PMID 33962964.
- PMID 35459751.
- PMID 25227734.
- S2CID 3692863.
- PMID 18780935.
- PMID 34755027.
- PMID 27536087.
- S2CID 23376047.
References
- Cordier JF. The expert patient: towards a novel definition. Eur Respir J. 2014 Oct;44(4):853-7. doi: 10.1183/09031936.00027414. PMID 25271227
- Doak, C. C., Doak, L. G., & Root, J. H. (1996). Teaching patients with low literacy skills [1]
- London, F. (2009). No Time To Teach: The Essence of Patient and Family Education for Health Care Providers. Atlanta: Pritchett & Hull
- Rankin, S. H., Stallings, K. D., & London, F. (2005). Patient Education in Health and Illness (5th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
- Bastable, S.B, Grambet, P., Jacobs, K., Sopczyk, D.L. (2011). Health professionals as educator: Principles of teaching and learning. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.