TITLE:
A study evaluating the effect of Educational Needs Assessment Tool (ENAT) focused patient education, on health outcomes in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: Protocol of an ongoing study
AUTHORS:
Bernadette Hardware, Claire Hale, Dawn Johnson, Jackie Hill, Tracey Young, Adewale Adebajo
KEYWORDS:
Educational Needs Assessment Tool; Protocol; Rheumatoid Arthritis; Self Management; Patient Education
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Nursing,
Vol.3 No.2,
June
13,
2013
ABSTRACT: Aims and objectives: To
evaluate the effectiveness of a patient education tool (the ENAT) on self
efficacy, patient knowledge, health outcomes and its usability in practice. Background: The
effectiveness and value of patient education in rheumatoid arthritis have been
questioned. The ENAT was developed to help the nurses to provide more focused, individualized
and relevant education. The psychometric properties of the ENAT have been
assessed. Design: This study is
a single blind randomized controlled trial using both quantitative and
qualitative methodology. The primary outcome is patient self efficacy.
Secondary outcomes are physical function,
psychological status, pain levels, social interaction and patient
knowledge of disease. Methods:
130 RA patients will be randomized into an experimental (EG) or control group (CG). The EG patients will
complete the ENAT prior to seeing a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) at weeks 0,
16 and 32. The CNS will use the ENAT as a template to meet patients perceived
educational needs in addition to the usual care. The CG will receive their
usual care from the CNS without the aid of the ENAT. To determine the ENAT’s usability, semi-structured quailtative
interviews will take place with the practitioners and a sample of patients once
they have completed the
quantitative arm of the study. Results:
The study commenced in April 2011 and the results are expected to be
available after April 2013. Conclusions: It is hypothesized that nurses’ use of
the ENAT will lead to increased patient self efficacy, and improved patient
knowledge and health outcomes among the patients who used it. Furthermore, it
is hypothesized that the ENAT will be easy for staff and patients to use. Relevance
to clinical practice: The ENAT
was developed to assess the perceived educational needs of patients with
rheumatoid arthritis and thus help the nurses
to provide more focused, individualised and relevant education.