Nine good reference books for your library
Learning assessments, compliance issues, and more
Many patient education managers looking for guidance on program development and management techniques find wisdom in books. That's why they keep several titles they find helpful in their reference library. All look for books that will best meet the demands of their job.
"As a busy practitioner, I rarely have time to sit down and read entire books. I much prefer practical books with concise chapters for easy reference," says Jackie A. Smith, PhD, patient education coordinator at the University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics in Salt Lake City.
Following is a list of books Smith and a few of her colleagues recommend:
· Client Education: Theory & Practice by Dorothy Babcock and Mary Miller. 1994. Mosby-Year Book Inc., 11830 Westline Industrial Drive, St. Louis, MO 63146-3318. Telephone: (800) 325-4177. Fax: (800) 535-9935. Web site: www.mosby. com. The book costs $35 plus shipping and handling, which depends on the weight of the order and the destination.
This book gives practical information on assessing readiness to learn, learning abilities, and learning needs throughout the life span. It also discusses preparing a teaching module, including analyzing assessment data, formulating teaching strategies, selecting materials, implementing the teaching, and evaluating the learning.
· Health Behavior and Health Education: Theory, Research, and Practice by Karen Glanz, Frances Marcus Lewis, Barbara K. Rimer. Second Edition. Jossey-Bass Inc., 350 Sansome St., 5th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104. Telephone: (800) 956-7739. Fax: (800) 605-2665. Web site: www. josseybass.com. The book costs $42.95 plus $6.50 shipping and handling.
This text offers the most current information in health behavior theory, research, and practice. Diverse factors affecting health behaviors are discussed, as well as how health behavior theories apply to health promotion and education. The book explores a three-level approach for influencing health behavior: individual, interpersonal, and group or community levels. "This book is very theoretical and I only use it when I need to refer to a theory or model as a basis for a talk or for ideas on strategies," says Sandra Cornett, RN, MS, PhD, program manager of consumer health education at The Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus.
· Mosby's Patient Teaching Tips by Esther Wintrop. 1995. Mosby-Year Book, Inc. (see contact information above). The booklet costs $7.95 plus shipping and handling costs, which depends on the weight of the order and the destination.
This is a small booklet that accompanies a notebook of one-page handouts to be used in patient education. The content includes the qualities of an effective educator, patient variables to consider when teaching, learning and behavior change, psychological considerations, the educational process, counseling theories, and case studies. "At University of Utah Hospital, we found this concise booklet to be a `must read' for health care providers," says Smith.
· Outcome Measures for Health Education and Other Health Care Interventions by Kate Lorig, Anita Stewart, Philip Ritter, Virginia Gonzalez, Diana Laurent, and John Lynch. 1996. Sage Publications Inc., 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Telephone: (805) 499-0721. Fax: (805) 375-1770. Web site: www.sagepub.com. The cost of the book is $18.95 plus $3.50 shipping and handling.
This resource provides more than 50 self-administered scales for measuring health behaviors, health status, self-efficacy, and health care utilization. It was developed by the Stanford Patient Education Research Center for use in their Chronic Disease Self-Management Program. A detailed explanation is given on how each instrument was conceptualized and developed for testing the effectiveness of the program.
"I use the outcomes book as a reference to help develop evaluation tools and for ideas on indicators for tracking outcomes," says Cornett.
· Patient Education: A Practical Approach by Kate Lorig. Second edition. 1996. Published by Sage Publications (see contact information above). Cost: $28.50 plus $3.50 shipping and handling.
A step-by-step description of the process of designing, implementing, and evaluating a successful patient education program. Content includes information on conducting a needs assessment as a basis for program planning, and developing and marketing the program. There also is information on selecting and preparing materials for program implementation. A number of methods and tools to use in program evaluation are presented. "I give this book to staff who request a good practical overview of the patient education programming process. It is especially useful for groups who are creating programs for the first time," says Cornett.
· Patient Education: Issues, Principles, Practices by Sally H. Rankin and Karen Duffy Stallings. Third edition, 1996. Published by Lippincott-Raven Publishers, 227 East Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Telephone: (800) 777-2295. Fax: (301) 824-7390. Web site: www.lrpub. com. The book costs $29.95 plus $8.00 shipping and handling.
Although this book was written for nurses and focuses on nursing practice, Smith has found it useful as a reference when planning patient education programs. "I particularly like the chapter on planning shared goals for patient education; also the chapter on evaluation, which covers determining and documenting patient learning outcomes," says Smith.
· Teaching Patients with Low Literacy Skills by Cecilia C. Doak, Leonard G. Doak, and Jane H. Root. Second edition, 1996. Published by Lippincott-Raven Publishers (see contact information above). The book costs $27.95 plus $8.00 shipping and handling.
This book discusses literacy issues, covering theory and practice. Illustrations and examples in the book assist the educator in developing materials for patients with low literacy skills. All staff members involved in education should have access to this book, says Smith. It is made available to staff through the library at the University of Utah Hospital.
· The Practice of Patient Education by Barbara Klug Redman. Eighth edition, 1997. Mosby-Year Book Inc. (see contact information above).
Examples of effective ways to educate patients, such as diabetes self-management education, make this book a valuable tool, says Smith. She finds the chapter on motivation and learning and the chapter on development and research in patient education most helpful.
· Your Dollars, Your Health: Healing Strategies and Skills by Roger G. Swartz and Gretchen Peske. 1996. Published by Blue Path Press. To order: R.G. Swartz & Assoc., P.O. Box 7568, Lancaster, PA 17604. Telephone: (717) 299-5061. Fax: (717) 560-0522. E-mail: PAPenne@ aol.com. Cost is $18.95 plus $3.00 for third class shipping and handling.
This work blends mind/body behavioral medicine, research-proven alternative therapies, and accelerated learning training methodology into the field of patient education. "This book's holistic approach explains the common applications confronting patients as they seek involvement in their own well-being. I find it especially useful in scanning the possibilities open to patient educators," says Donald Hartswick, EdD, director of education, Hospital Shared Services of Western Pennsylvania in Warrendale.
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