Received Knowledge of Care as Evaluated by Patients and Their Significant Others: A Feedback‐Register Study

Abstract

<p><strong>Aims and Objectives:</strong><br>Register data and tracking evaluations by patients and their significant others through feedback can assist in the quality assurance of patient education. This study uses an observational, feedback-registry study to analyse systematic, register-based evaluative feedback from patients and their significant others on received knowledge of their care in one university hospital district and the factors connected to the feedback.</p><p><strong>Design:</strong><br>An observational, feedback-register study.</p><p><strong>Methods:</strong><br>The data consisted of evaluative feedback on received knowledge (n = 83,388) in 2019 at a Hospital District in Finland. The data was extracted from a feedback register. Initially, the patients and their significant others gave feedback with structured feedback surveys and/or feedback text messages. Data were analysed with descriptive and inferential statistics.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong><br>Evaluative feedback from patients and their significant others on the quality, understandability, sufficiency and clarity of received knowledge of their care was rather positive. Feedback from patients was more positive than that from their significant others and, correspondingly, from elective patients compared to emergency patients. Positive feedback on received knowledge correlated with a positive perception of the general quality of care.</p><p><strong>Conclusions:</strong><br>The results indicate mainly positive evaluations of received knowledge. These findings are relevant for several stakeholders: in the quality assurance of patient education, for example, nurses, healthcare managers and researchers can act in key positions.</p>