EDUCATIONAL PRACTICES IN HEALTH APPLIED TO NURSING IN BRAZIL

Abstract

Health education is a fundamental practice in nursing, promoting self-care, preventing complications, and improving patients’ quality of life. This article aims to explore the role of nurses as health educators, focusing on educational interventions aimed at patients with chronic diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart failure. The methodology used was an integrative literature review, covering articles published between 2015 and 2023 in the SciELO, LILACS, and PubMed databases. The results highlight that health education provided by nurses is effective in promoting self-care behaviors and treatment adherence. Personalized interventions, which consider the individual needs and sociocultural contexts of patients, have shown greater success in promoting health and preventing complications. In addition, the use of digital technologies, such as monitoring and telemedicine applications, has proven to be a valuable tool for expanding the reach of health guidelines and improving communication between nurses and patients. Despite the benefits, nurses face challenges such as work overload and lack of time and resources to carry out appropriate educational interventions. It is concluded that health education should be strengthened and valued in the context of nursing, as an essential tool for promoting public health.