Investigating the effects of Six Sigma method on the quantity and effectiveness of patient education in the CCU of Birjand Valiasr Hospital in 2012

Patient education has a fundamental role in control and improvement of diseases. T his study aimed to investigate the impact of implementing the Six Sigma model on the quantity and effectiveness of patient education in the CCU of Vali-asr Hospital in Birjand. In this quasi-experimental study, 56 patients who were admitted in CCU during 1.5 months were taken as the control group and taught by the conventional method. Awareness and attitude were measured at the time of admission in, and discharge from, the ward, and the quantity of patient education was measured at the time of discharge. T hen, Six Sigma model was applied for nurses in group discussions and interviews, and nurses tried to educate patients based on the solutions obtained in the discussions. All patients (n=47) who were admitted in the hospital during the coming 1.5 months were taken as the case group and evaluated by the same methods and tools. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire whose validity and reliability were confirmed. Data were analyzed in SPSS (version 18) using independent t-test and paired t-test. Results revealed that quantity of patient education increased significantly more in the case than the control group (P<0.001). The overall awareness score mean and its areas, and attitude score of patients in the case group increased significantly on the day of discharge vis-à-vis admission (P<0.001).However, no significant difference occurred in the control group. Results show a significant increase in the quantity and quality of education to patients after the implementation of the Six Sigma model. Thus, patient education can be promoted by recognizing the existing processes, their roots and defects, and by modifying the processes.