Evaluation of a Patient Education Tool Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Evaluation of a Patient Education Tool - Essay Example This is an example of a patient education handout useful to nurses and other health care professionals. The source of the patient education handout is the PERC (Patient Education Reference Center) from EBSCO publishing. The heart attack patient handout is an online tutorial suitable for the educational needs of all people (Freda, 2002). The heart attack patient handout has been designed into several sections and sub-sections with each of the sections presenting clear and concise content about heart attacks. The handout presents the definition of a heart attack, causes, risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and prevention. These sections and the relevant sub-sections are well explained in a brief and easy to understand format. The handout is appropriate for adults in general including heart attack patients, nurses and other health care professionals and any other person seeking preventive measures for heart attacks. The heart attack patient handout has been written using the 7t h grade reading level. Though the readability level of the heart attack patient handout may be high compared to other printable sources with less detail like pamphlets or fact sheets; the handout is easy to navigate because of its brief nature. The ease of reading in this particular handout is also boosted with the use of step-by-step instructions and medical instructions (Holly & sharp, 2013). As an educational tool, the heart attack patient handout can be said to be culturally appropriate. The main reason being that it provides evidence-based patient handouts that can be customized, printed and given to a patient by nurses and health care professionals. PERC handouts provide readability ease such as medical illustrations and are available in multiple languages. Therefore, these handouts are suitable for use in several cultural contexts because they are customizable and available in multiple languages. The most exciting thing about the heart attack education handout is the simple, concise and easily understandable way of its content. The handout is easy to read, has clear illustrations and step-by-step instructions about a heart attack. It’s a complete and simple guide for a heart attack patient and for any other individual seeking information relating to heart conditions. It also points out the need to schedule and attend periodic with medical providers or cardiac specialists. That is why it is provided as a supplement of face-to-face teaching and care by health care professionals. One of the advantages of using patient handouts is the fact that it enables nurses and other medical care professionals provide high quality care. Patients and any other person seeking information on heart attacks are able to access patient handouts which are evidence-based and cover all aspects of heart attacks. In addition, they also cover failures including prevention, procedures, discharge instructions, drug information among other useful information. Therefore, the hea rt attack patient handout is a very effective educational tool for a more general audience. On the other hand, there are also disadvantages of using patient handouts for educational purposes. For instance, a patient may not be interested or bother to refer to the handout. Patient handouts are designed for use by health professionals for patient