Why patient education is important

Proper patient education will help patients prepare for any symptoms of their condition that may arise. If a patient knows that a certain symptom may be related to their condition, they will be able to note if and when the symptom occurs and report that relevant information to a doctor. Additionally, patients should always be educated on possible future treatments, so they know what to expect. This will help patients feel more prepared for that treatment and will alleviate concerns or fears that stem from the unknown.

In addition to helping patients understand their conditions and treatments, patient education will teach patients how to avoid certain chronic diseases in the first place. Effective communication assists in understanding the patient, and their wants and needs, as well as building trust, rapport and respect. Where communication is not effective, important information can be missed or misinterpreted leading to conflict and frustration.

Where important information is missed, patient safety and patient outcomes can be affected. Effective communication includes listening skills, as well as verbal and non-verbal communication []. Effective communication skills are essential when providing patient education to patients and family members and can be linked to improved patient satisfaction and compliance with treatment regimens as well as a reduction in patient complaints [32, 33].

Poor communication or inadequate information can cause much distress for patients and their families, who may want considerably more information than has been provided. Lack of effective communication between specialists and departments can also cause confusion and a loss of confidence amongst the team.

Informed consent is a process for getting permission before conducting a healthcare intervention. A health care provider may ask a patient to consent to receive therapy before providing it, or a clinical researcher may ask a research participant before enrolling that person into a clinical trial. Informed consent is collected according to guidelines from the fields of medical ethics and research ethics [32, 33, 34].

The role of informed consent is to ensure patients, carers and family members understand the purpose, benefits, and risks of all treatment options before consenting to or refusing treatment. Where the patient is unable to provide consent themselves, consent can be obtained from a parent, legal guardian or individual with power of attorney. Consent to medical treatment can only be given by a person who is competent to consent. In general, Australian law recognises that individuals aged 18 years and over have full legal capacity and are capable of making decisions relating to their own health care.

Before 18 years of age, parents or legal guardians are entitled to consent to their child's medical treatment. When attempting to decide whether a child is mature enough to make decisions, people often talk about whether a child is 'Gillick competent'. Gillick competence is a term used in medical law to decide whether a child 16 years or younger is able to consent to his or her own medical treatment, without the need for parental permission or knowledge.

Gillick competence doctrine is part of Australian law. Cancer Institute NSW sites. Search Search. Log in Register Search Main menu Toggle menu collaspe. Search eviQ Close Search Search. JavaScript disabled!

This site requires JavaScript. Please consider turning it on. Background Patient education is the process by which health professionals provide specific and detailed educational activities and information to patients, carers and family members so they can actively participate in their healthcare and any treatment they may be receiving [].

Characteristics of adult and children learners Children Adults Depend upon adults for material support, psychological support and management of day to day life Depend upon themselves for material support and management of day to day life Are directed by others Are predominately self directed but must still meet many psychological needs through others Perceive one of their major roles in life to be that of a learner Perceive themselves to be doers and use previous learning to foster continual success Generally learn what they are told to learn Learn best when they understand why it is important to learn See learning as important because adults tell them it is important Determine for themselves what is important to learn As a group of learners are generally similar, e.

Knowles identifies six principles of adult learning: Adults are internally motivated and self-directed. They want to know why they need to learn something and want to understand the value of learning it. Adults want their learning experiences to: meet their needs be relevant help them to achieve their goals Adults bring life experiences and knowledge to learning experiences adult learners are a valuable resource because they have diverse knowledge and life experience which can be applied to new learning experiences.

Adult learners may have ingrained ideas about things but will use their problem-solving, reflecting and reasoning skills when faced with a new problem. Adults are goal oriented adults are goal focused and want timely learning.

They seek meaningful learning experiences and need clear learning goals. Adults are ready to learn when they identify something they want to know or when they experience something that connects with their life situations.

They become ready to learn things in order to cope effectively with real-life situations. Adults are relevancy oriented adult learners want to know the relevance of what they are learning to what they want to achieve. Adults are practical adults want to learn what will help them perform tasks or deal with problems they see in their lives now. They want to be involved in planning their learning and will focus on the aspects that are most useful to them.

Adult learners like to be respected adult learners want respect and to be seen as capable learners. Where possible, they should be offered choice and be encouraged to set their own learning goals. The following resources may be useful in your clinical practice: The University of Queensland Australia: Occupational Therapy Practice Education Collaborative Clinical educator's resource kit Northwest Center for Public Health practice: Effective adult learning - A toolkit for teaching adults Educating children, adolescent and young adult patients When providing paediatric patients and their families with education, it is important to recognise that a different approach is needed.

Toddlerhood during this stage of development education is also solely directed towards the parent or caregiver however, as the child gains autonomy and independence, it is important the toddler is included in aspects of care as they are capable of some degree of understanding, especially with regards to procedures.

Education should be provided using age appropriate teaching strategies. Although children of this age are able to comprehend more words, they may taken things literally therefore caution is needed. Early childhood during this stage of development, education should include both the parents and child with the aim of facilitating communication between the parent and child about all aspects of their treatment and ongoing care.

Middle and late childhood during this stage of development, education should include both the parents and child however, health professionals are able to establish a one on one relationship and can provide education directly to the child, without the parent present if requested. Adolescence during this stage of development, education should include both the parents and adolescent however, if requested, can be delivered separately.

Health professionals are able to establish a one on one relationship and it is important to understand the characteristic of the developmental stage in order for education to be effective.

Patient-centred and family-centred care Education sessions must be planned and delivered to meet the individual needs of the patient, carer and family and incorporate the principles of patient and family centred care [26, 32, 33]. Providing patient centred and family centred education A critical step in providing high quality education is assessing the learning needs, individual learning styles, readiness to learn, and the health literacy of the patient, carer and family.

Assessing the learning needs of the patient, carer and family The first step in the process is assessing: what is already known what they want and need to learn what they are capable of learning any requirement for different resources to support English as a second language ESL hearing or visual impairments In some instances, there are differences between the views of patients and health professionals about what the patient and family need to know, as the patient may not perceive the importance of certain information.

This model identifies: visual learners learn through seeing auditory learners learn through hearing kinaesthetic learners learn through moving, doing or touching Generally speaking, most people have one preferred style however, many can learn using a combination of all styles. Health literacy Health literacy is the ability to obtain, understand and use healthcare information to make appropriate health decisions and follow instructions for treatment. Health literacy is dependent on individual and system factors: communication skills of individuals and health care professionals knowledge of health topics — individuals and health care professionals culture demands of the healthcare and public health systems demands of the situation or context of illness and requirement for health literacy Health literacy affects people's ability to: navigate the healthcare system, including filling out complex forms and locating health care providers and services share personal information, such as health history engage in self-care and chronic-disease management understand mathematical concepts such as risk in regards to treatment decisions and informed consent It is important to be aware of health literacy when planning education for patients and families.

Health Literacy: Taking action to improve safety and quality. Clinical Excellence Commission. Health Literacy Other factors When planning and delivering education it is important to take into consideration how specific learning difficulties or impairments can affect how individuals take in, remember, understand or express information.

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