Patient education in Europe: united differences

Abstract

This issue of Patient Education and Counseling presents the state of the art of patient education in several European countries. It is based on papers presented at a meeting in Paris on the evolution and development of patient education in western, central and eastern Europe (May 1999). Also patient education in the US is presented in this issue. Patient education is defined as all the educational activities directed to patients, including aspects of therapeutic education, health education and clinical health promotion. Five important factors are identified in the development of patient education: (1) research and evidence based standards; (2) the organization of care; (3) training and methodological support; (4) professional values; and (5) acknowledgment, funding and place of patient education in health policy. Several of the discussed common orientations and priorities in the patient education in the reviewed countries are highlighted in this issue. And finally, an example of the possible integrated international practice in patient education in the field of diabetes is described in this issue. Several conclusions are drawn concerning future development of communication in health care within the framework of patient education in Europe. #

Nurse communication in health education: Patients’ perspective

“…Each chronic disease has explicit particular health education content, materials and strategies. [31] Similar to this line, Clinical Innovation and Governance, Family and Community Services, in 2014 reported that it is important when supporting people with a disability to note that there may be challenges in developing and maintaining communication and behavioral support on a daily basis. [32,33] This can be particularly evident when supporting people with complex communication and behavioral challenges.…”

Patient education among nurses: bringing evidence into clinical applicability in Iran

“…2,3 There is a growing body of research evidence that illustrates the effectiveness of PE on enhancing patients' levels of empowerment, self-care behaviors, compliance with health care recommendations, satisfaction in health care settings, and quality of their life, and reducing their levels of anxiety. 3,4 Nurses are the largest group of the health care providers. They are at the forefront of patient care, and spend the most time with the patients and their family members.…”

The readiness for hospital discharge of patients after acute myocardial infarction: a new self-reported questionnaire

“…Medical care providers are perceived to be responsible for providing reliable information concerning treatment after hospital discharge [5]. However, the study conducted among older patients discharged from an emergency department in Finland showed that only one in four patients and 40% of family members received no discharge education [10].…”

“…It is estimated that as many as 20% of patients make major mistakes regarding discharge recommendations within the first three weeks [2]; moreover, 60-80% of patients do not follow recommendations regarding long-term treatment [3,4], which results in substantial health consequences. Medical care providers are responsible for adequate preparation of patients for discharge from the hospital [5]. Galvin et al [6] proposed an operational definition of readiness for hospital discharge that includes following attributes:…”