Pouresmail, Z., Nabavi, F. H., & Zare, N. V. (2023). Outcomes of patient education in nurse-led clinics: A systematic review. Journal of Caring Sciences, 12(3), 188–200. https://doi.org/10.34172/jcs.2023.31891
This systematic review identifies patient education outcomes based on a systematic review of nurse-led clinics and summarizes randomized trials of patient education across chronic disease categories. The authors explain what outcome domains were evaluated and what education methods were delivered, such as face-to-face instruction and multidisciplinary delivery, and they refer to gaps in family-level outcomes and online methods (Pouresmail et al., 2023). There is a clear description in this resource of the expected measurable endpoints in designing an education intervention, and a practical example of how a trial reported a physiologic marker of behavior change and a psychosocial measure. This simplifies the process of aligning an evaluation plan to real-world outcomes. The review also assists nurses in prioritizing the outcomes they should monitor when the initiative is aimed at enhancing patient education and compliance. Pouresmail et al. (2023) demonstrate the ability of education provided by nurses to shift clinical markers and behaviors and indicate that measurement needs to be extended beyond the individual patient to family and community. Those findings can help nurses justify their monitoring plans and support standardized outcome sets in their unit. The review also highlights areas where the evidence is thin, enabling the teams to work on those areas. The review can be used by nurses who develop discharge education or nurse-led teaching clinics to select validated outcomes and to design trials or quality project designs. Apply it in the planning of education among chronic disease populations in which physiologic and behavioral outcomes are important and where there is a case to be made to include structured follow-up or digital methods. The review is also used to decide the metrics to report to the leader.
Marques, C. R. de G., de Menezes, A. F., Ferrari, Y. A. C., Oliveira, A. S., Tavares, A. C. M., Barreto, A. S., Vieira, R. de C. A., da Fonseca, C. D., & Santos, E. S. (2022). Educational nursing intervention in reducing hospital readmission and the mortality of patients with heart failure: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease, 9(12), 420. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcdd9120420
This meta-analysis and systematic review of nursing educational interventions that involve home visits combined with telephone follow-up in patients with heart failure reports pooled outcomes in terms of their effects on readmission and mortality. The article gives some details of the intervention, including when, how often, and what to do during the home visit, and how the contact through telephone facilitates education (Marques et al., 2022). It measures anticipated effect sizes of readmission and mortality and comments on heterogeneity and practical limitations that influence implementation. This provides a transparent outline of an intervention that modifies hard clinical outcomes. The meta-analysis provides high-value evidence that nurse-led home visits and calls decrease readmissions and deaths among heart failure patients and assist nurses in ensuring that resources are provided to support postdischarge follow-up. The timing windows and regular visit frequency, which Marques et al. (2022) present, can also be converted into operational protocols. That piece of evidence will justify staff time allocation, as well as follow-up schedule design. Consider this resource when suggesting or implementing a transitional care program to patients who are at risk of readmission, particularly those with heart failure. It is most applicable during the planning of postdischarge workflow education content and a combination of home and telephone follow-up to prevent unnecessary readmissions. The combined outcomes can be used to defend pilot programs.
Aremu, T. O., Oluwole, O. E., Adeyinka, K. O., & Schommer, J. C. (2022). Medication adherence and compliance: Recipe for improving patient outcomes. Pharmacy, 10(5), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy10050106
This opinion, synthesis article explains the causes of medication nonadherence and provides useful interventions to enhance adherence by educating the provider about communication, educating the patient about communication, partnering with communities through community partnerships, and adjusting medications (Aremu et al., 2022). It outlines measurement strategies and low-cost interventions that can aid long-term medication adherence. The article is written as a concise implementation manual of compliance-oriented pragmatic measures. Nurses obtain a structured group of strategies to resolve a significant source of poor results. Since medication misunderstanding and nonadherence are fundamental safety risks, the paper provides nurses with approaches that they can apply today to mitigate the risk. Aremu et al. (2022) emphasize the role of provider communication tools, reminder systems, and community linkages, which may be incorporated into an education-focused safety plan to ensure that the prescribed treatment is followed. The suggestions champion both bedside teaching and changes at the systems level. Use this resource when the safety program focuses on adherence-driven outcomes or when concrete adherence supports should be included in discharge education. Utilize the proposed communication scripts, reminder techniques, and partnering thoughts through patient education and crafting follow-up and monitoring plans to prevent medication-related harm.
Oh, E. G., Lee, H. J., Yang, Y. L., Lee, S., & Kim, Y. M. (2021). Development of a discharge education program using the teach-back method for heart failure patients. BMC Nursing, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-021-00622-2
In this methodology paper, the creation and testing of a discharge education program based on the teach back method with heart failure patients and the ADDIE-based program design, content validity testing, and patient-level understandability and actionability are documented (Oh et al., 2021). It provides a validated curriculum framework with discrete teaching points, a validated patient education leaflet, and measurement instruments that determine whether patients comprehend care instructions. This is a workable program model that can be adapted. The teach-back-based program provides nurses with a reproducible procedure to achieve discharge understanding that directly confronts the safety risk of insufficient patient education. Oh et al. (2021) give the steps and validation metrics required to demonstrate that the educational materials are comprehensible and implementable, reinforcing any implementation plan. This program should be used by nurses when discharge understanding is critical and when it is necessary to demonstrate the effectiveness of the education materials. Modify the HEART components and apply the teach back checks in the bedside teaching as well as in the follow-up phone calls to check whether learning is taking place and to prevent readmission.