Educational interventions to empower nursing home residents: a systematic literature review

Abstract

Purpose of the studyHealth education is essential to improve health care behavior and self-management. However, educating frail, older nursing home residents about their health is challenging. Focusing on empowerment may be the key to educating nursing home residents effectively. This paper examines educational interventions that can be used to empower nursing home residents.MethodsA systematic literature search was performed of the databases PubMed, CINAHL, CENTRAL, PsycINFO, and Embase, screening for clinical trials that dealt with resident education and outcomes in terms of their ability to empower residents. An additional, manual search of the reference lists and searches with SIGLE and Google Scholar were conducted to identify gray literature. Two authors independently appraised the quality of the studies found and assigned levels to the evidence reported. The results of the studies were grouped according to their main empowering outcomes and described narratively.ResultsOut of 427 identified articles, ten intervention studies that addressed the research question were identified. The main educational interventions used were group education sessions, motivational and encouragement strategies, goal setting with residents, and the development of plans to meet defined goals. Significant effects on self-efficacy and self-care behavior were reported as a result of the interventions, which included group education and individual counseling based on resident needs and preferences. In addition, self-care behavior was observed to significantly increase in response to function-focused care and reasoning exercises. Perceptions and expectations were not improved by using educational interventions with older nursing home residents.ConclusionIndividually tailored, interactive, continuously applied, and structured educational strategies, including motivational and encouraging techniques, are promising interventions that can help nursing home residents become more empowered. Empowering strategies used by nurses can support residents in their growth and facilitate their self-determination. Further research on the empowerment of residents using empowerment scales is needed.

Perceived quality of nursing care and patient education: a cross-sectional study of hospitalised surgical patients in Finland

“…It may be that collaboration with family members was not identified as being so important among this sample of adult patients even though they have to have a significant other to accompany them home from the hospital and stay over the first night. In the future, however, the increase in the number of older patients will mean special emphasis on family collaboration 8. In the internal medical field, typically involving older patients, we have already identified the connection between the quality of care and patient education 50…”

“…In earlier literature, the importance of in-patients’ perceptions of quality of care and their experiences has been identified 3–6. Preoperative empowering information has been shown to improve the perceived perioperative quality of care,7 and educational activities are important for patient empowerment,8 as has been shown among older people. Furthermore, patient education is important for reducing preoperative anxiety,9 and it has a positive impact on professionals’ performance 10.…”

Perceptions of Antibiotic Therapy Among Nursing Home Residents: Perspectives of Caregivers and Residents in a Mixed Exploratory Study

“…Similarly, the need for raising awareness among residents was identified in a study but rather as a mental support than a true provider of information [29]. Indeed, residents were less likely to participate in their treatment [30] and rely on health professionals decisions.…”

<p>Instruments for Patient Education: Psychometric Evaluation of the Expected Knowledge (EKhp) and the Received Knowledge of Hospital Patients (RKhp)</p>

“…It enables selfmanagement, such as problem-solving and decision-making, creating an experience of independence and power. 17,[33][34][35][36] Empowerment has several characteristics that are necessary to specify for measurement purposes. Leino-Kilpi et al 37 have introduced the elements of empowerment.…”