Nurses Viewpoints about Facilitator and Inhibitor Factors of Patients Education

Education is a mutual process leads to learning and influence the individual behaviors ultimately. The patient education main goals include helping person to improve the quality of life، to achieve the optimal psychosomatic development، and to boost the self-confidence. Among the health-care providers، the nurses spent much time with patients and their family، and so they potentially are the most eligible professionals to identify and respond the patients’ educational needs. This research aims to evaluate the staff nurses’ opinion regarding the importance of patient education and determination of its main facilitators and barriers.

This was a cross-sectional study conducting on nurses who are working in a hospital in East of Guilan province، Iran. The data gathering instrument was a questionnaire divided into 4 sections as follows: (1) questions regarding demographic characteristics (2) sixteen items to find out the subjects’ opinion about the importance of patient education (3) ten items to assess the facilitators to patient education and; (4) ten items to determine the barriers to patient education. To establish the validity of questionnaire the technique of content-related validity according to the opinions of the experts was used. The reliability was confirmed using test-retest technique. Descriptive statistics was applied to interpret the data.

Almost all subjects had a positive attitude regarding the importance of patient education. They introduced “the patient’s interest and cooperation in planning and executing the education” as the most important facilitator (Mean=4. 56; SD=0. 52) and “selecting and educating of special personnel for providing patient education” as the least important facilitator (Mean=3. 23; SD=0. 7) in patient education. They also pointed out “lack of appropriate knowledge and skills regarding recognition of patient educational needs in respect of type of disease” as the most important factor (Mean=4. 53; SD=0. 61) and “unmatched educator and patients in terms of sex” as the least important factor (Mean=3. 19; SD=1. 37) act as barriers to patient education.

Considering the patients interest and cooperation as the most important role along side an optimal nurse – patient relationship، using of audio – visual methods provide more cooperation and facilitate knowing patient eduction requitement.