[The Effect of Taking an Affectionate Approach to Discharge Education in the Pediatric Ward].

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND & PROBLEMS From January to March 2013, only 36.7% of pediatric patients in our hospital were given health education by nurses and only 47.1% of patient families indicated feeling "good" about the health education that they had received. After analyzing the situation, we identified the following key issues (1) Lack of an SOP; (2) Inconsistent nursing guidelines; (3) Difficulties in comprehending health education tools; and (4) Poor caregiver adoption of TPN skills. PURPOSE: Our aim was to apply "impressive service" at our pediatric department to improve the effect of post-discharge health education in order to enhance the quality of care received by patients and their families. RESOLUTIONS A variety of measures were implemented to improve the satisfaction rate of post-discharge health education. These measures included reinforcing advocacy during hospitalization, developing an SOP on health education and an auditing system, manufacturing an "Impressive Service Card" and a "Pamphlet for hospitalized children", and employing a health education method and leaflets that were beneficial to the caregiver. RESULTS: The result of our practice increased the rate of health education to 100% and a rate of satisfaction of 99.4%. These significant improvements indicate that the "Impressive Service" program may be an effective strategy to improve the quality and effectiveness of post-discharge health education. CONCLUSIONS: This program was implemented as part of standard discharge procedures as a strategy to improve the attitudes of nursing staff, to enhance the satisfaction of pediatric patients and their family members, and the enhance the image of our hospital and nursing personnel.