Instruments for measuring patient health education competence among nursing personnel: protocol for a COSMIN-based systematic review

INTRODUCTION: Health education, as a crucial strategic measure of disease prevention and control in the 21st century, has become an important part of healthcare. As the main deliverers of patient health education, nursing personnel’s patient health education competence (PHEC) has received much attention. Instruments for assessing the PHEC of nursing personnel have been developed internationally, but there is a lack of systematic reviews and evaluations of the psychometric properties of these instruments. To effectively select appropriate PHEC assessment instruments in specific contexts, a systematic and comprehensive review and evaluation of these measurement instruments are needed. The goal of this systematic review is to systematically evaluate the psychometric properties of existing PHEC instruments. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: In this study, eight databases will be searched between 1 March 2023 and 31 2023 to retrieve studies that include instrument(s) measuring the PHEC of nursing personnel. Two researchers will independently perform literature screening, data extraction and literature evaluation. In case of disagreement, a third researcher will be involved in the resolution. The measurement properties of PHEC assessment instruments will be systematically reviewed based on the consensus-based standards for the selection of health measurement instruments (COMSIN) methodology and guideline. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval is not applicable for this study. We will share the findings from the study at national and/or international conferences and in a peer-reviewed journal in the fields of health education and/or patient education. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42023393293.