School of Health and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases in Nursing Practice

Abstract

Introduction. Chronic noncommunicable diseases require long-term care, and much of the outcome depends on what happens outside the consulting room. Patients need to understand recommendations, monitor their condition and know when to seek help. In this review, health schools are therefore considered not simply as a way to provide information, but as a practical form of continuing patient support. This perspective also makes the nursing contribution particularly visible, because nurses often see how medical advice is actually implemented in everyday life. Objective. We aimed to examine health schools from a practical perspective: which educational approaches help patients manage chronic disease, what role nurses play in this process, and how the effectiveness of such programs can be assessed. Digital and hybrid formats were considered separately. Materials and methods. Publications and methodological documents issued between 2012 and 2026 were reviewed. Searches were performed in eLIBRARY, CyberLeninka, PubMed and Web of Science using Russian- and English-language combinations of terms related to health schools, patient education, nursing education, health literacy, self-management, teach-back, motivational interviewing, nurse-led care and digital health. We gave priority to national guidance, systematic reviews, meta-analyses and studies that reported educational, behavioral, clinical or organizational outcomes. The purpose was not to collect publications indiscriminately, but to identify sources that allowed the content and practical results of educational programs to be assessed. The literature search was last updated in September 2026. Results. The reviewed literature shows a fairly consistent shift away from the traditional model in which a health school mainly transmits information. More developed programs assess the patient's starting point, teach specific actions, check understanding and provide follow-up. Teach-back, motivational interviewing, practical skills training and repeated assessment are used in different combinations. From a nursing perspective, the recurring tasks are self-monitoring education, clarification of recommendations, adherence support, identification of barriers, family involvement and remote follow-up when needed. Another finding of the review is that knowledge scores alone are not enough: behavior, sustained skills, clinical indicators, quality of life and use of healthcare services may also matter. Digital tools can extend access, but they do not remove the need for individual feedback. Conclusion. In the literature reviewed, a health school appears most useful when it is part of continuing preventive care rather than a single educational event. The practical aim is not simply to give a patient information, but to help that person use it safely in everyday life. Nurses can play a coordinating role between clinical recommendations and day-to-day self-management. A hybrid model that combines face-to-face skills training with digital support and subsequent reassessment seems especially promising.