Identification of Barriers to Patient Education in the Coronavirus Ward From the Perspective of Nurses Caring for COVID-19 Patients

The extensive spread of COVID-19 and the increasing number of hospitalized patients have made the educational role of nurses more prominent. This study was conducted to identify the barriers to patient education in the coronavirus ward from the perspective of nurses caring for COVID-19 patients in this ward of 22 Bahman Hospital in Khaf City, Iran.

This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from December 22, 2020 to March 20, 2021. A total of 82 nurses caring for COVID-19 patients in the general ward of Coronavirus were selected by census method and then investigated. The study data were collected with an electronic questionnaire of obstacles to patient education (with confirmed validity and reliability) and analyzed using the chi-square, Friedman test, Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney U, and Kruskal-Wallis statistical tests in SPSS software, version 22. P<0.05 was statistically significant.

The highest mean score of the nurses' point of view regarding the barriers to patient education was related to management factors (2.4±0.3), and the lowest was related to educational skills (1.8±0.3). The mean score of the nurses' opinion regarding the barriers to teaching patients was significantly higher in the management field than in other fields and the field of working conditions than in the fields of nurses' attitudes and educational skills (P<0.05).

Since the highest mean score of the nurses' view of the barriers to patient education was related to management factors, managers should encourage nurses to conduct this vital task by continuous monitoring and control, considering educational activities in periodic evaluations, and issuing organizational notices for patient education.