Administration of patient education in nursing: perspective of nurse administrators in Finland

Aim: To analyze administration of patient education in nursing from the perspective of nurse administrators to provide new information and support for evidence-based practice and development. Design: A descriptive study. Methods: Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews. The informants were nurse administrators (n=6) working in primary health care in two large Finnish cities. The data were analyzed using inductive qualitative content analysis. Results: Two main categories were identified: administration of patient education and areas for improvement in the administration of patient education. Each category was further divided into four subcategories. Administration of patient education involves recognizing it as a distinct nursing action, ensuring nurses’ competence, supporting processes and resources, and fostering a value-based approach to patient education. Areas for improvement concern the identification, planning, implementation, and evaluation ofpatient education. Conclusion: At present, the administration of patient education in nursing appears to be unstructured and unsystematic. Moving forward, systematic administration and improvement of patient education will require a clear identification and delineation of the entire patient education process.