Patient education in nursing refers to the process of creating awareness for the sick to influence their behaviors, attitudes, knowledge, and skills. This enables them to become independent and maintain their health statuses. Some practices include administering medications in the form of injections like insulin for diabetes patients, handling equipment like oxygen tanks for home use, and dressing wounds. Further, patient education enhances preventive care by encouraging eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly. In the hospital setup, designs and chart-like models provide guidelines and checklists that remind patients of the need to practice self-care routines.
The respondent in the interview was a male whose initials were J.N and 69 years old. He had diabetes condition and I was his personal nurse and he could attend regular checkups in the hospital. After the interview, it could be identified that patient education influences the health condition management of the sick at home. Routines such as maintaining wound hygiene and watching for warning signs must be observed to reduce the risks of other infections. Additionally, maintaining a healthy diet influences the healing process by boosting immunity. After conducting patient education, it can be seen that they become more dependent and learn how to manage their conditions after leaving the hospital (Caydam & Kaya, 2019). Close monitoring enables them to give doctors feedback on their progress, and checkups can be made quickly without delay in case of severe warning signs.
Patient education promotes dietary, medication, and physical exercise guidance routines. Patients are given appropriate guidelines on the specific exercises and diet. Taking a balanced meal, including enough fruits and vegetables, reduce cases of constipation. Similarly, minimal fat, sugar, and salt intakes are additional precautions to minimize cases of additional complications. Light exercises, such as walking for 30 minutes in the evening, were recommended for physical fitness. Further, the patient was advised to avoid intake of alcohol and smoking as they could worsen his health condition.
Patient education facilitates family support at home after being released from the hospital. They could follow up to determine whether he followed instructions and took their medication on time. Further, the members joined him for a walk for safety and any emergency. During the preparation and intake of meals, they provided the required diet to boost his immunity. Therefore, the sick must receive a supportive and friendly healing environment to regain their health (Zha et al., 2022). Additional services like transportation to the hospital or checkups were done by private means for comfort and security.
Further, education increases awareness of available local support facilities to the elderly. In the surrounding society, many initiatives have been established to take care of the old, especially those living with diabetes and hypertension conditions. They are responsible for offering food and emotional encouragement support by providing guidance and counseling services. Education programs available educate the public on how to live with the elderly in society and help them in satisfying their daily activities. Through this, the parents could identify the need to allow their children to support the old in their house chores and meal preparation. They were further guided to the shopping facilities to get fresh fruits and vegetables. Engaging in intensive exercises could lead to more damage and, therefore, the need to be cautious about the activities to undertake.
Patient education facilitates cultural and religious considerations to avoid conflicts between the sick and healthcare providers. Cultural sensitivity is critical in healthcare as it makes the doctors aware of the accepted beliefs and practices. Since they interact with patients from different regions, they must be mindful of sound communication cues. In some setups, non-verbal means of interaction have different meanings and can pass on additional messages. Misinterpretations can make the sick afraid to share their diagnosis reports as they fear being judged. This lowers the government’s expenditure on medication to public hospitals creating room for other progress. The insufficient facilities in the hospitals will be utilized effectively to reduce new infection spread rate cases.
In summary, elderly patients’ education within the healthcare setting is essential in improving the condition of the sick. They learn to be more dependent and offer care services at home without depending on the nurses. This points to the need to create more awareness of this concept among the citizens as the outcome leads to more health benefits. Due to this, healthcare professionals should take the lead in patient education to ensure every need of the patients is attended to especially the old since they are vulnerable.
References
Caydam, O. D., & Kaya, U. P. (2019). Association between social support and diabetes burden among elderly patients with diabetes: A cross-sectional study from Turkey. Saudi Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences, 7(2), 86. Web.
Zha, J., Li, Y., Qu, J., Yang, X., Han, Z., & Zuo, X. (2022). Effects of enhanced education for patients with the helicobacter pylori infection: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Helicobacter, 27(2). Web.