Championing Health Promotion through Group Patient and Family Education Activities in the Outpatient Department of a Tertiary Care Hospital

BackgroundHealth education involves not only providing relevant information but also facilitating health-related behavior change. Patient education during the waiting period plays an essential role in promoting health and improving patient satisfaction rates. ObjectiveTo promote health by educating patients and their companions during their waiting period at the King Fahad Medical City (KFMC) Hospital, Riyadh, with the help of nurses and assess their satisfaction rate. MethodsA cross-sectional study, including patients and their companions in the waiting rooms of the various OPDs, was conducted. Group teaching sessions were conducted, followed by the assessment of patient and nurse satisfaction rate, and compliance rate using evaluation forms. Pre-implementation surveys were conducted to assess the drawbacks, based on which procedure was modified, and feedback was recorded using an electronic iPad. Data were collected with the help of questionnaires filled at the end of each teaching session and analyzed using descriptive analysis. Results of both the assessment and re-assessment were compared in terms of the number of attendees. ResultsThere was an improvement in number of attendees (4362 vs. 3392), patient satisfaction rate (90% vs. 78%), nurse satisfaction rate (83.09% vs. 33.18%) and compliance rate (100% vs. 65%) post-modifications. Few loopholes in terms of inappropriate environment and time of the lecture were also observed. ConclusionThe health educators can assist people in achieving their health goals by organizing structured health education activities, providing appropriate health education materials, and effective training. However, the satisfaction rates of people and health educators should be assessed by conducting routine feedback surveys.