Patient education and follow-up units in Iran: A quality improvement project.

Background & Aim: The rising prevalence of chronic and non-communicable diseases, presents significant challenges to health systems. This study aims to empower patients and their families by establishing patient education and follow-up units, thereby improving readmission rates, reducing unplanned r...

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Publicado en:Nursing Practice Today Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 6 - 12
Autores principales: Ghaleh, Elham Almasi, Farsani, Susan Jamshidi, Ariamloo, Parastoo, Mehrnoosh, Nasrin, Rassouli, Maryam, Ebadi, Abbas
Formato: research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Tehran University of Medical Sciences 2025
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: 2025
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      pub: Tehran University of Medical Sciences
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        10.18502/npt.v12i1.17521
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        atl: Patient education and follow-up units in Iran: A quality improvement project.
      aug:
        au:
          Ghaleh, Elham Almasi
          Farsani, Susan Jamshidi
          Ariamloo, Parastoo
          Mehrnoosh, Nasrin
          Rassouli, Maryam
          Ebadi, Abbas
        affil: Islamic Azad University, Sciences and Research, Tehran, Iran
      sug:
        subj:
          Empowerment
          Patient Education
          Family Education
          After Care
          Hospital Units
          Readmission
          Referral and Consultation
          Emergency Service
          Patient Satisfaction
          Quality Improvement
          Human
          Descriptive Statistics
          Data Analysis Software
          Nursing Role
          Chronic Disease Nursing
          Noncommunicable Diseases Nursing
          Practice Guidelines
      ab: Background & Aim: The rising prevalence of chronic and non-communicable diseases, presents significant challenges to health systems. This study aims to empower patients and their families by establishing patient education and follow-up units, thereby improving readmission rates, reducing unplanned referrals to emergency departments, and enhancing patient satisfaction, which are key nursing-sensitive indicators. Methods & Materials: This perspective article presents a quality improvement project utilizing the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle model. Initially, the problem of non-compliance among discharged patients and the resulting adverse consequences were identified. Consequently, a program for patient and family education and follow-up post-discharge was proposed. In the second step, patient education and follow-up units were implemented across three universities of medical sciences, and the results were analyzed in the third step. Upon confirming the achievement of the expected outcomes, the fourth step involved the national dissemination of implementation guidelines . Results: The established units in hospitals demonstrated significant improvements in NSIs. The percentage of readmission among follow-up patients decreased from 14.3% in the first half of 2023 to 6.6% in the first half of 2024. The indicator of unplanned referrals dropped from 8.93% to 6.1% over the same period. Additionally, patient satisfaction increased from 91% to 93%. Conclusion: The experience of establishing patient education and follow-up units highlights that this strategy during the transition to home is an effective, affordable, and sustainable solution that can improve NSIs. This approach, facilitated by nurses, can play a crucial role in managing non-communicable and chronic diseases.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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