The study was conducted in the Day Hospital of Internal Medicine in the Central Finland Central Hospital. The objective of this study was to determine the quality of patient education for patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.The research task was to determine how the patients perceived the educational support given by nurses. In the study patient education was viewed through the perspective of four categories of social support: emotional support, practical support,informational support and interpretative support.

The study was conducted with quantitative ang qualitative research methods.The data was collected with a structured questionnaire which also contained one open question. The questionnaire was sent to the patients who had developed rheumatoid arthritis from three to eight months ago.

The results showed that the patients were content with the emotional support they had received. However, taking the patient´s family into account in the education was deemed as needing further attention. The respondents also thought that the educational facilities needed improvements.The environment could be more peaceful and the education situation should be less hasty. The nurses were seen as kind and helpful. The overall quality of the education was perceived good and being focused on the individual.

The results of the study can help to improve the patient education to further focus on the patients´ needs.Further study is needed to evaluate if family nursing needs more attention in the rheumatic patients´ education process.