Developing a teaching protocol on prostatism based on patient educational factors in Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Eldoret, Kenya

Abstract

Background: Education has been associated with empowerment and better health where pedagogies are aligned with life experiences. It, however, has had a number of flaws that may make going to school less of a predictor of self-improvement. Limited understanding of prostatism among both patients and healthcare workers leads to suboptimal care and attendant complications. With no existing teaching protocol on prostatism across the world, an objectively structured one was desirable. This study developed and pretested a teaching protocol based on patient educational factors and was found to be capable of empowering those taught to improve on their urological health and care. Objective: To develop and pretest a teaching protocol on prostatism based on patient educational factors among men presenting at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Eldoret, Kenya. Methods: This was a census study that lasted two years. A purposed consecutive sampling was done and data collected using a pretested interviewer administered questionnaire. The data was analyzed by use of SPSS version 20.0 by subjecting it to cross-tabulation, correlations and linear regression analysis. Discrete data was summarized using frequencies, proportions, ratios and percentages while continuous data was by mean and standard deviations. Statistical significance using Chi square and Student t- test was pegged at p value ≤0.05. Results: One hundred and twenty-six patients were recruited into the study. Their ages ranged from 51to 88years with mean± Standard Deviation of 67.1 ±9.7 years. Those with no formal education were 46% while 55.9% of those who went to school had less than or equal to 7years of primary education. Education beyond secondary school positively correlated with better healthcare and yielded statistically significant differences in terms of active search for health information (p <0.001), awareness of prostatic disorders (p<0.001) and health status at presentation in hospital (p=0.003). The patients taught using the teaching protocol scored 90% in good understanding of the prostatic disorders, 96.7 % understanding of the symptoms and 100% sense of being empowered to understand prostatism. Conclusions: Formal education positively influenced healthcare in patients with prostatism with maximum benefits in those with greater than secondary level of education. The developed teaching protocol on prostatism will be able to empower patients and enhance urological care. Recommendation: It is recommended that the developed teaching protocol on prostatism be incorporated into and widely utilised in patient health education so as to better the urological health of patients.