Factors influencing the patient education: A qualitative research

BACKGROUND The related literatures revealed that there is a lack of effective patient/family education in the health care centers. Several studies indicate that patients, while getting discharged from hospitals, receive insufficient information about their illness and self-care. AIMS The purpose of the study was to explore the factors influencing patient education from the perspectives of nurses in Iran. SETTINGS AND DESIGN We conducted a qualitative study using a content analysis approach. MATERIALS AND METHODS We used a purposive sampling technique to recruit and interview 18 nurses with at least 2 years of working experience in the cardiac care unit (CCU) and post-CCU ward of two educational hospitals in Tehran related to Tehran University. Data were collected through face-to-face audio-taped interviews and field observations. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed concurrently with data collection. RESULTS THE MAJOR THEME EXTRACTED IN THIS STUDY WAS THE INAPPROPRIATE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE WHICH INCLUDES EIGHT CATEGORIES LISTED AS FOLLOWS: Not putting value on education, non-professional activities, physician-oriented atmosphere, conflict and lack of coherence in education, inappropriate communication skills, ignoring patient's right in education, lack of motivation, rewarding system in the organization, and poor supervision and control. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study show that according to the participants' perspective, organizational culture is in a poor level. So, to improve the performance of nurses, it is necessary to increase their motivation through optimization of organizational culture.