Teach-Back Effect on Self-Reported Understanding of Health Management after Discharge

Continued low ratings on patients' self-reported understanding of how to manage their health after discharge were a concern for a rural Western U.S. hospital. The purpose of the project was to determine if there was a difference between patients experiencing Teach-Back, a method used by health care providers to confirm patients' understanding of information delivered, and patients not experiencing Teach-Back in their self-reported understanding of how to manage their health after discharge. Orem's self-care deficit nursing theory and Coleman's care transition model supported the need for self-care education. The logic model was used to implement the inpatient registered nurses' use of the Teach-Back method to increase patients' understanding of and compliance with their discharge plan. A quantitative research design was used to determine the effect of the education. Deidentified HCAHPS survey scores were collected from 832 returned patient surveys. The project goal was to increase patients' self-reported understanding by 10%. Analysis revealed an 18% increase in understanding among patients experiencing Teach-Back; however, the Mann-Whitney U test was not significant at the p > .05 level. Lack of compliance with the training and inconsistency in its application were possible contributors to the results. Health care outcomes depend on patients' understanding of and ability to perform self-care after discharge. An increase in patients' understanding of how to manage their health may increase overall patient satisfaction, wellness, and illness management and the organization's value-based purchasing incentive; in addition, it may decrease readmission and mortality rates.