The scale of expectations from the therapeutic education of chronically ill patients

Introduction. In recent years, the therapeutic education of patients has become an important element in the treatment of chronic diseases. The effectiveness of this process depends, inter alia, on taking into consideration the patient’s needs, their expectations, and their experiences associated with the disease. The aim of the publication is to present the scale in order to study the expectations from the therapeutic education of patients. In addition, it was examined to determine if the expectations of patients are likely to vary depending on gender, age, education and place of residence.

Material and methods. The study group consisted of 503 chronically ill outpatients, including 301 women and 202 men. The average age was 52.06 (SD = 14.30) years. The majority of the patients remained under the care of a specialized clinic (n = 294, 62.55%). The average duration of illness was M = 9.12 years (SD = 8.53). The author’s Scale of Expectations from Therapeutic Education OE-15, a List of Patient’s Expectations (PRF, Patient’s Request Form), and Imprint were used.

Results. The analysis allows us to conclude that the presented scale to study the Expectations from Therapeutic Education, OE-15, is a reliable and valid one. Age and gender differentiate expectations from education in a group of patients with chronic diseases.

Conclusions. The scale to study expectations can be used in the therapeutic education of patients. It allows an assessment of their expectations in terms of information about the disease, treatment, an explanation of the disease’s impact on aspects of life, and information necessary to take action towards tertiary prevention of the disease.