Evaluating the efficacy of patient-education by nurses in Birjand-based teaching hospitals in 2017

Patient education is one of the fundamental aspects of patient care and is a necessity in the health care system. These trainings are aimed at helping individuals to improve their lives, reach maximum psychophysical development, and strengthen their self-confidence. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the efficacy of patient education delivered by nurses in the Birjand-based teaching hospitals in 2017. In this descriptive-analytical study, 303 eligible patients hospitalized in the Birjand-based Valiasr and Imam Reza hospitals were selected by quota sampling method. The data collection instruments comprised of a demographics form and Nurses’ Patient-Education Assessment Inventory whose validity is confirmed by the Nursing Deputy of Ministry of Health, Care and Medical Education via the notification letter on nationwide indices on nursing care quality. Its reliability is reported as 0.85 using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. The data were analyzed by SPSS software using Friedman, Mann-Whitney, and Kruskal-Wallis tests. The highest mean score of knowledge was related to the identification of the physician and nurse (2. 57 ± 0.54), whereas the lowest belonged to the lifestyle dimension (0.69 ± 0.29). The total score of knowledge in the patients was 14.26 ± 3.54 (below average). The Friedman’s test showed that the mean scores of knowledge in the identification of the physician and nurse, disease recognition, drug consumption, lifestyle, self-care, post-discharge follow-up, satisfaction with the educational program delivered by the nurse, and manner of education were significantly different in the patients under study (p According to the results of this study, the necessity of planning of managers in terms of effective nursing education for patients, their supervision, and evaluation of the efficacy of nursing education is suggested.