Nurse as an Educator

Nurses perform a critical function in advancing and furthering positive health outcomes among people and communities. Typically, the attention of the health promotion implemented by health professionals and nurses has been focused on preventing diseases and changing the habits of individuals about their health. The role of nurses as promoters of positive health outcomes is more complicated because they possess a multi-disciplinary understanding and experience of health promotion in the nursing profession (Bastable, 2014). The functions and responsibilities of the nurse as an educator in the medical profession and medical facilities are becoming increasingly popular as a modern technique of enhancing and increasing the quality of client or patient education.

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A good example of a case where nurse education is necessary is the provision of education on diabetes. For instance, WHO (2016) established that diabetes is one of the leading causes of the death globally. Diabetes, which is mostly referred to by medical practitioners as diabetes mellitus, defines a group of metabolic illnesses where the individual has a high level of blood glucose (blood sugar). In 2014, WHO (2016) found out that the population of people with diabetes had increased from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million. The same report established that in 2015, more than 1.6 million people had died as a result of diabetes and another 2.2 million deaths were a result of high sugar levels in the blood. The main reason identified as responsible for the increase in the number of people who have diabetes is the lack of knowledge on disease management and maintenance of an optimal health status. Researchers have established that the trend can be stopped by teaching and educating patients on disease management and treatment, also referred to as health promotion. Therefore, education of patients on disease management and prevention is critical to improve the clinical outcomes of a country.

Instructional Material (Brochure)

Diabetic health educators typically train patients verbally — however, the clients tend to forget this verbal material or information given. Consequently, to improve the effectiveness of diabetic health education, data provided to customers verbally must be complemented and supplemented with the written materials. Furthermore, a study by Smith (2007) established and determined that the clients prefer and appreciate the helpfulness of the written materials because it is easy to refer to them when needed. Nurse educator utilizes several materials while conducting health promotion sessions on diabetes among the communities and patients. Some of the materials that are used by diabetic nurse educators during health promotion or education sessions include brochures, posters, banners, online resources, posts on social media, training modules, literature, and workshops (Smith, 2007).

One of the instructional materials majorly used by the nurses during diabetes health education sessions is the brochure. A brochure is defined as an educational and informative content which is written and used for marketing and advertising a company, product, organization, and services, aiming to provide certain information about a topic or a matter. The paper document is made in such a way that it can be folded into a leaflet, pamphlet, or template. For instance, the diabetic brochure used by WHO provides information about diabetes that includes its scientific name and definition. The brochure also contains information on the causes of the disease, its symptoms, signs, and useful tips on how to manage it and maintain a healthy life status (WHO, 2016). It also provides information on how to prevent the diseases. For example, the brochure provides tips on the level of sugar intake per day, what type of foods to avoid, and encourages physical activity and exercise. It also includes services and products offered by WHO and its affiliates or partners, a toll number of 1119 that can be used for emergencies, and email address to receive any information on the disease. This brochure is given to all individuals diagnosed with diabetes (other than gestational diabetes) when registering at any hospital (WHO, 2016).

Analysis of Readability

A person’s health literacy is thought to be the primary determinant of their health condition. Health literacy is described as the ability to acquire, receive, deduce, and comprehend fundamental health information, services, and skills that allow the individuals to utilize such data in order to live and maintain an optimal health condition or status (Bastable, 2014). Studies show that poor health literacy results in more than $73 billion of the additional cost or financial burden to the U.S’ Healthcare System (Eta, Atanga, Atashili & D’cruz, 2011). The healthcare burden of Medicaid diabetic patients with inadequate or little literacy is almost four times those with sufficient health literacy. This factor is prevalent because poor communication between the nurses and diabetic patients prompts and increases the chances of medical malpractices, while effective communication and education reduce patient’s anxiety, enhance compliance and positive health outcome.

Delivering and administering health education by using brochures is a proven and tested methodology or technique. Readability, a critical aspect of the brochure, can influence the person’s capacity to understand certain information. Smith (2007) established and recommended that the readability of diabetic patient education brochure should be between sixth- to eighth-grade level. Nevertheless, most of the available diabetic patient education brochures are produced and generated at the reading level that does not meet these requirements and poses comprehension challenges to a substantial proportion of the population.

Analysis of Suitability

One of the advantages of brochures as a health education material is their consistency in the message, accessibility of the required information, and the opportunity to share it. To have an impact on health habits, it is critical to ensure that health education brochures are suitable and appropriate for their intended audience. To achieve this goal, suitability actors such as layout, cultural design, and cultural relevance or aptness and content of these brochures should be taken into consideration (Bastable, 2014).

Brochures should be made in a way that would suit the needs of the target audience and be attractive enough to encourage the readers to peruse the document. It was established that in terms of the suitability and appropriateness to the person with diabetes, WHO brochures were sufficiently adequate and attractive. The content was adequately informative while also simple to read and comprehend. In addition, the information on how to access services from WHO was also very clear and straightforward. However, the information availed may be too lengthy for an average person, and therefore, it should be shortened and minimized to only capture the most important messages, thus encouraging patients to read.

Summary of Critical Analysis

Health education as defined by Bastable (2014) is the amalgamation and groupings of learning experiences developed to assist people and communities in improving their health by enhancing and increasing their understanding, knowledge, or influencing their attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions. This paper established that even though 60 percent of the diabetic health education brochures were adequate and suitable, the majority of them required enhancements and developments in regard to their learning stimulations, motivation, and graphics. The non-existence of an interactive feature, graphics, and summarized statements, a crowded layout and the lack of instructions or guidelines to model the desired habits are some of the weaknesses identified within the brochures (Smith, 2007). The brochures were also written at the eighth-grade level, thus eliminating their readability for a proportion of the population.

It is recommended that instructions and guidelines for developing diabetic health education brochures be determined and established. The diabetic health education brochures ought to be pilot-tested prior to their dissemination. Additionally, nurses or diabetic educators who develop the health education brochures should be adequately trained. The developers should ensure that the quality of the brochures meets the needs and requirements of the target audience (Bastable, 2014).

Conclusion

Diabetic health education is the foundation of primary health care since it enhances and improves patients’ compliance with treatment, their understanding and knowledge of the diabetic disease self-management. Health care education on diabetes is important and critical for achieving positive health outcomes in a country, community, family, or individual. Governments should ensure that nurses are well trained in order to offer educational sessions and services to the clients. The materials used for education should also be adequate and suitable. Similar to the case of WHO, the brochures should be attractive enough and possess sufficient, appropriate, and simple information.