Abstract

Aim

The goal of this systematic review was to systematically evaluate the psychometric properties of existing patient health education competence instruments.

Background

The patient health education competence of nursing personnel is a crucial factor that determines the quality of patient education, patients’ quality of life, and patients’ health-related outcomes. Although different instruments have been developed to assess patient health education competence, there is no comprehensive and rigorous systematic review to provide an overview and critical appraisal on these instruments. Therefore, a comprehensive systematic review of the measurement properties of such instruments is necessary.

Design

A systematic review based on COSMIN methodology.

Methods

In this study, six English databases and two Chinese databases were systematically searched for relevant publications, to retrieve studies that include instrument(s) measuring the patient health education competence of nursing personnel. Two researchers independently performed literature screening, data extraction, and literature evaluation.

Results

A total of 13 studies reporting 11 eligible instruments were included. No studies have reported cross-cultural validity, measurement error, or responsiveness of the instruments.

Conclusion

Based on the findings of this study, five instruments were recommended as Grade A, and the remaining six instruments were recommended as Grade B. The Nurse Health Education Competence Instrument is considered the most appropriate tool for assessing patient health education competence among the available instruments. Future related instrument development should be based on more rigorous testing and reporting, to ensure the validity and reliability of the instruments.