Learning Objective #1: to become more familiar with the concept of patient-centred patient education and will have the first results of patients' perceptions of patient-centred education.

Learning Objective #2: find out the reserach design to study the development of care and to arrange hospital staff training intervention including factors connected with this.

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It has been found that patient education has a number of positive effects on patient care. Patient education provides a possibility to find out the patient’s preferences in view of his/her care, which is an important information dimension in evidence-based care.

The successful education of chronic patients can be examined in view of their compliance, which is here defined as the patient’s active, responsible self-care in collaboration with the nursing staff, as required by his/her care. Through patient-centred education, it is possible to promote compliance.

It has been indicated in a number of investigations that patients would appreciate it if there were more discussion in patient education about their life situation, preferences and experiences of the illness, of being ill and of the role of care. Patient-centred education gives the patient a possibility to contemplate major important issues connected with his/her illness and care. The aim of patient-centred education is to have the patient consider his/her illness or care from a new perspective of meaning.

The recognition of new types of meanings is a slow process so this type of education requires good educational continuance between the parties involved in patient care. The commitment of all the parties to patient-centred education improves the effectiveness of the education.

The purpose of this repeated measures study is to examine the outcomes of patient education and the practice development intervention intended for the hospital staff with regard to patient education. The aim is to improve the effectiveness of patient education and to investigate the role of training in changing practises.

The research will provide information on the implementation and effectiveness of patient education for chronic patients, development of care, arranging training intervention, the effects of such intervention, and factors connected with these. The evaluation of evidence-based care serves to support the decision-making.