Abstract: Objective To investigate the effect of the clinical nursing pathway（clinical pathway for short） for health education in patients with new smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis.  Methods 400 patients with new smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis were assigned equally to a clinical pathway group and a control. The clinical pathway group included 94 male and 106 female and average age was (54±15.9). The control group included 99 male and 101 female and average age was （56±14.2）. Patients received health education with clinical nursing pathway in clinical pathway group and received health education with conventional care programmes in the control. Change of life behavior, nursing satisfaction and compliance of taking anti-tuberculosis drugs were compared between the clinical pathway group and the control. Data were analyzed with chi-square test. P-value<0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results The score of treatment compliance in the clinical pathway group were 4 scores in 140 cases, 3 scores in 20 cases, and 2 scores in 10 cases. In the control group, the scores of treatment compliance were 4 scores in 170 cases, 3 scores in 30 cases, 2 scores in 21 cases and 1 scores in nine case. Cognitive behavior change in the clinical pathway group were basic apprehension in 144 cases, partial apprehension in 51 cases and inapprehension in 5 cases. In the control group, basic apprehension in 78 cases, partial apprehension in 71 cases and inapprehension in 51 cases.Nursing satisfaction in the clinical pathway group were satisfactory in 170 cases, partial satisfactory in 20 cases, basic satisfactory in 10 cases and unsatisfactory in 0 cases. In the control group,satifactory in 130 cases,partial satifactory in 40 cases, basic satifactory in 20 cases,and unsatifactory in 10 cases.Three above assessment indicators between the clinical pathway group and the control were significantly different. The chi-square value were 17.806, 60.686 and 35.33 respectively, P values were less than 0.01. The indicator in the clinical pathway group was higher than those in the control (P＜0.01). Conclusions Management of clinical pathway can improves treatment compliance, nursing care satisfaction and cognitive behavior change in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.

Key words: tuberculosis,pulmonary/nursing, health education