Over the last decade in the WHO European Region the health profes- sions have been under some pressure to promote patient education* as a major addition to pharmacological, physical and other forms of thera- py. Nevertheless, health care providers still need efficient educational programmes* in the long-term management* of chronic diseases*. Cur- rent programmes do not usually include educational methods or psy- chological support of patients. Their methodology has never been adequately formalized and this creates difficulties in educating other health care providers*. Bibliographical review has shown that less than 5% of articles on patient education* describe the educational pro- cess and the methods used7
