Teaching by the nurse: how important is it to patients?

Few studies address patients' perceptions of the importance of education by a nurse and how this relates to their view of quality care. This article reports on a secondary data analysis that examined the influence of demographic and background characteristics and health status on the importance of teaching to patients (n = 239) in ambulatory care. Health education by nurses was important to patients, some more than others. Teaching for health promotion was more important to men than to women (t = 2.51, p = 0.01) and more important to Blacks than to Whites (t = 3.43, p = 0.001). As patients' educational level increased, it was less important to have a nurse in ambulatory care teach them about their illness and treatments and about health promotion. Patient education and being able to call a nurse with questions were significantly more important to patients with lower incomes and lower mental and emotional health scores.