Links Between Perceptions and Practices in Patient Education: A Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Healthcare delivery
• Health professions education
• Health psychology

Background:

• Patient education integration into healthcare remains challenging two decades after WHO definition.
• Healthcare professional perceptions may explain implementation difficulties.
• Understanding these perceptions is key to improving patient education practices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the links between healthcare professional perceptions and patient education practices.
• To investigate the quality of patient education practices and associated perceptions.
• To identify factors influencing the relationship between perceptions and practices.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review following PRISMA guidelines.
• Searched PubMed, PsycINFO, and Scopus databases.
• Included 20 studies examining perceptions and patient education practices.

Main Results:

• Correlational and causal links exist between perceptions and patient education practices.
• Four types of perceptions (task, patient, self, context) are linked to practices.
• Practice quality analysis revealed the central role of individual patient perceptions.

Conclusions:

• Perceptions significantly impact patient education practices, particularly concerning individual patient needs.
• Further research should focus on practice quality, specific interventions, and bidirectional influences.
• Methodological improvements are needed for robust findings on causation.