A Survey on the Requirement of Health Education in Hospitalized Patients with Cancer

Objective To investigate the requirement of health education in the hospitalized patients with cancer. Methods An investigation was made on 193 patients with cancer in various departments of the hospital by asking them to anonymously fill in the specially designed questionnaires. The questionnaire covered 4 areas (40 items). A data base was established with EXCEL8.0. The SPSS10.0 for Windows was used and the data was analyzed with Kruskal-Wall's test or χ2 test. Results There were 193 valid questionnaires. 93.8% of the patients welcome the idea of having health education provided by the hospital. Most of the patients wanted to improve the quality of their life. Female patients wanted to have the knowledge about cancer while male patients wanted to receive rehabilitation training. Inpatients are more interested in knowing the knowledge related to their dieases. Medication, diet, and rehabilitation training are the major concern of the outpatients. After treatment, patients prefer to have the follow-up counseling at the hospital. The requirement of health education in patients varied with age, education level, and occupation. Conclusion There is a need for hospitalized cancer patients to receive health education. The way to conduct health education may vary among individuals. Health education should be provided to all patients before and after treatment.