Evaluation of Patient Education

Patient education is the process of enabling individuals to make informed decisions about their personal health-related behaviour. It aims to improve health by encouraging compliance with medical treatment regimens and promoting healthy lifestyles [1]. Patients have a right to receive appropriate education, so they can utilize their knowledge to participate in decision-making processes [2]. Professionals in health care have a commitment to provide unbiased and evidence-based information to help educate patients. Virtually every patient encounter should include some element of patient education. The physician who uses a variety of strategies (e.g., verbal messages, printed materials, computerized information) and involves staff in patient education efforts is most likely to be a successful patient educator [3]. Building a partnership with patients over time and understanding the perceptions, values, and beliefs that influence their health behaviours are the underlying principles of clinical practice that provide the foundation for helping patients to change. It is in the context of “continuity of care” that theories of health behaviour are most beneficial [4].