How can we assess educational needs?

Let’s keep it simple. A great way to assess a patient’s educational needs is by exploring their perspectives, barriers, concerns, and goals. The ESFT model, developed by Dr. Joseph R. Betancourt, offers a structured yet flexible approach to doing this. It includes four key areas to explore:

• Explanatory Model: Finding out what the patient understands about their condition, how it affects them, and what treatments they believe will help.
• Social and Financial Barriers: Identifying practical challenges, like work, family, or cost, that might make it hard for them to follow a treatment plan.
• Fears and Concerns: Exploring worries about their condition, recovery, or treatment.
• Therapeutic Contracting: Collaborating with the patient to create a realistic and achievable plan.

By assessing these areas, we can make education meaningful, practical, and tailored to each patient, leading to better understanding, engagement, and outcomes.

Let’s look at a more simple, modified approach to the ESFT model that we can easily put into our everyday physiotherapy practice.