Knowing the health condition, knowing how they learn, and working interdisciplinary: Elements for conducting health education in older adults. A qualitative study with health professionals

Abstract

Introduction: This study aimed to identify the training needs of health professionals (HP) regarding health education based on their experience educating older adults (AM) with chronic non-communicable diseases in the Sabana Centro region of Colombia. Methods: This is a qualitative study using a phenomenological approach with HP who work with AM with chronic non-communicable diseases in the Sabana Centro region of Cundinamarca, Colombia. Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted. The participants were 20 HP with a mean age of 34.3 years; 95% of the individuals interviewed were females. Once the theoretical saturation was achieved, the data were analyzed using Atlas.Ti 22. Results: Data analysis identified two main themes representing the training needs of healthcare professionals: How the AM learn, which includes communication skills, analog or technological teaching techniques, methodologies and perceived barriers, and the inclusion of family in education, and knowledge of health conditions, in which healthcare personnel self-evaluate their competencies regarding their interprofessional knowledge and skills. Conclusion: Training needs for HP on health education are focused on improving didactics, methodologies, and eliminating learning barriers for AM. In addition, they need updated evidence that improves interdisciplinarity for the comprehensive approach to AM. © 2023 The Authors