Assessment of the implementation of therapeutic education in patients with chronic disease in the context of perceived social support

Introduction: Therapeutic education should be an integral element of treatment, especially in chronic disorders, because good disease control and less frequent relapses or exacerbations contribute to improving the quality of life, including increasing the patient’s mental comfort and self-determination in the disease. An important element of the ability to involve the patient in the process of therapeutic education is social support. Aim of the study: To understand the relationship between the assessment of the effectiveness of therapeutic education in patients treated for chronic diseases and the level of experienced social support. Material and methods: The study included 98 patients. The study involved the diagnostic survey method. To collect the data, the author’s questionnaire and a standardised tool (ISSB) were used. The obtained data were analysed statistically. Results: Among the patients suffering from chronic diseases, therapeutic education was most often carried out once (42.6%), without a previously prepared educational program (61.4%) and mainly providing methods (46.5%). The surveyed most often participated in educational activities carried out by a single member of the therapeutic team (69.3%), and the duration of education was adjusted to individual needs. The evaluation of the program was carried out only in a minority of those surveyed (43.7%). Conclusions: Patients with chronic diseases had the opportunity to participate in one-time education. Therapeutic education in clinical practice is far from the recommendations of theoreticians and requires work on each stage of educational activities.