Education of patients with chronic kidney disease, evaluation of health-education material

Kronična bolest bubrega jedan je od vodećih javnozdravstvenih problema u svijetu. Približno jedna od 10 odraslih osoba ima neki oblik oštećenja bubrega. Osim toga, smrtnost od srčanokrvožilnih bolesti u svim stadijima kronične bubrežne bolesti vrlo je visoka. Rano prepoznavanje kronične bolesti bubrega i primjereno liječenje mogu je spriječiti ili usporiti. Važno je podizanje svijesti o prisutnosti bolesti bubrega u populaciji, kako među potencijalnim bolesnicima tako i među liječnicima obiteljske medicine. Glavni cilj istraživanja diplomskog rada bio je procijeniti vrijednost edukativnih pisanih materijala, na primjeru zdravstveno-odgojnog priručnika “Kronična bolest bubrega” te utvrditi razumiju li bolesnici različite dobi, formalnog obrazovanja i duljine trajanja bolesti sadržaj priručnika, pomaže li im on i koliko u prihvaćanju i razumijevanju njihove bolesti te boljem liječenju. Istraživanje je provedeno u 80 bolesnika s kroničnim bolestima bubrega (stupanj uznapredovalosti bolesti bio je od I do IV). Oba spola su bila podjednako zastupljena. Raspon dobi bolesnika bio je od 25 do 89 godina (prosječno 62 godine). Prema formalnom obrazovanju bili su podijeljeni u 4 skupine: osnovno, srednje, više i visoko obrazovani. Mlađi i bolje obrazovani bolesnici su pročitali cijeli priručnik i razumjeli su njegov sadržaj. Razlika je u odnosu na starije ispitanike bila statistički značajna. Većina bolesnika (91,3%) smatra da priručnik u cjelini zadovoljava njihove potrebe za znanjem, nije preopširan i pomogao im je u boljem razumijevanju i liječenju njihove bolesti. Bolesnici koji boluju od kronične bolesti bubrega moraju puno naučiti o svojoj bolesti kako bi mogli aktivno sudjelovati u donošenju odluka u svezi liječenja. Dobra edukacija potiče bolesnikovu suradljivost, čime pridonosi smanjenju komplikacija i boljem uspjehu liječenja. Priručnici tiskani kao zdravstveno-odgojni materijal neizostavni su element u provođenju edukacije te su pokazali iznimnu vrijednost.Chronic kidney disease is one of the leading public health problems in the world. Approximately one out of 10 adults have some form of kidney disease. Mortality rate from cardiovascular disease at all stages of chronic kidney disease is very high. Early identification and appropriate treatment may slow down progression of chronic kidney disease. Therefore, it is important to raise awareness of the presence of kidney disease in population, both among potential patients and among physicians. Research goals of thesis included estimation of value of the written material for their education (eg., health and educational manual "Chronic kidney disease"), as well as to determine whether patients of different age, formal education, and duration of disease understand content of the health-educational materials, whether and how it helps in understanding and acceptance of their disease and better treatment. The study was conducted in 80 patients with chronic kidney disease (stage severity of illness was I to IV). Both genders were equally represented. The age range of patients was 25 to 89 years. The average age was 62 years. According to the formal education patients were divided into 4 groups: primary, secondary, higher and university grade education. Younger and better educated patients have read the entire manual and understood its contents. The differences compared to older participants were statistically significant. Most patients (91.3%) expressed opinion that this manual meets their needs for knowledge, isn’t verbose and helped them to better understand and treat their illnesses. According to our results patients with chronic kidney disease have to learn a lot about their illness in order to be able to actively participate in decisions regarding the treatment. Good education encourages patient compliance, thereby contributing to the reduction of complications and better treatment success. Manuals printed as health education materials are indispensable element in the training and have demonstrated exceptional value