Teaching by the Nurse: How Important Is it to Patients? Marilyn H. Oermann, Clare H. Harris, and Jennifer A. Dammeyer Few studies address patients’ perceptions of the importance of education by a nurse and how this relates to their view of quality care. This article reports on a secondary data analysis that examined the influence of demographic and background characteristics and health status on the importance of teaching to patients (n = 239) in ambulatory care. Health education by nurses was important to patients, some more than others. Teaching for health promotion was more important to men than to women (t = 2.51, p = 0.01) and more important to Blacks than to Whites (t = 3.43, p = 0.001). As patients’ educational level increased, it was less important to have a nurse in ambulatory care teach them about their illness and treatments and about health promotion. Patient education and being able to call a nurse with questions were significantly more important to patients with lower incomes and lower mental and emotional health scores. Copyright © 2001 by W.B. Saunders Company P ATIENT EDUCATION IS an essential com- ponent of health care. Health education pro- vides patients with information and skills for cop- ing with health problems, caring for themselves at home, and maintaining health. The documented benefits of health education are numerous. In- formed patients are more likely to cooperate with treatment regimes and demonstrate better manage- ment of their health problems than patients who are not informed (Oermann, 1997). Other studies show that education for self-care results in fewer primary care visits, which reduces costs (Mazzuca, Brandt, Katz, Hanna, & Melfi, 1999) and is related to improved patient satisfaction with care (Schauffler, Rodriquez, & Milstein, 1996). These outcomes permit health care institutions to remain competi- tive in the current environment with its emphasis on consumerism, quality care, and cost contain- ment. Few studies address patients’ perceptions of the importance of education by a nurse and how this relates to their view of quality care in ambulatory settings where more and more care is being pro- vided. In studies by Oermann and colleagues (Oer- mann, 1999; Oermann & Templin, 2000), consum- ers reported that an important dimension of quality health care was having a nurse teach them about their illness, medications, and treatments, and about health promotion. Patient education by the nurse was also important to veterans in their view of quality care (Oermann, Weglarz, & Templin, 1999). None of these studies, however, examined the impact of demographic and background char- acteristics or health status on the importance of being taught by the nurse in ambulatory care. PURPOSE Because few studies have considered the impor- tance of patient education to patients in ambulatory care, a secondary data analysis was completed. This article describes the results of this analysis. The purpose of the secondary data analysis was to examine the influence of demographic and back- ground characteristics and health status on the im- portance to consumers of teaching by the nurse. This study contributes to a better understanding of patient expectations for teaching in ambulatory care. Ultimately, what patients expect from their health providers may influence their satisfaction with care (Conway & Willcocks, 1997; Greeneich, 1993; Kravitz, 1996; Lin, 1996; Ludwig-Beymer et al., 1993; Williams, 1998). LITERATURE REVIEW It is an accepted belief in the nursing community that patient education is a vital component of qual- Marilyn H. Oermann, PhD, RN, FAAN, Professor, College of Nursing, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI; Clare H. Harris, MSN, RN, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, MI; and Jennifer A. Dammeyer, MSN, RN, University of Mich- igan Health System, Ann Arbor, MI. Address reprint requests to Marilyn H. Oermann, PhD, RN, FAAN, 168 North Cranbrook Cross, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301-2508. E-mail: moermann@msn.com. Copyright © 2001 by W.B. Saunders Company 0897-1897/01/1401-0003$35.00/0 doi:10.1053/apnr.2001.9236 Applied Nursing Research, Vol. 14, No. 1 ( February), 2001: pp 11-17 11