The competence of novice nurses in providing health education to patients in South Africa

Providing health education to patients is one of the competencies that nurses develop during training because of its critical role in managing lifestyle diseases. However, novice nurses’ ability to render health education once they are in the workplace is underreported. The study aimed to determine novice nurses' competence in giving patients health education. One hospital in the eThekwini district in KwaZulu Natal province of South Africa formed the setting of this study in which a quantitative, descriptive design was used. Hence, a questionnaire was utilized as a data-gathering tool among purposively sampled 125 nurses in supervisory roles. The data were statistically analyzed and presented in tables and figures. The results showed the respondents perceived the novice nurses as competent in planning and giving health education to patients. The novice nurses’ shortcoming was that less attention was paid to family involvement in giving health education and giving health education at the patient's level of understanding based on their educational level. The study contributes knowledge on the importance of the competence of novice nurses in giving health education as a strategy to tackle lifestyle diseases.