Evaluating the Effectiveness of Using the Teach-Back Method to Improve the Health Literacy of Individuals in the Community.

Abstract

PURPOSE The purpose was to evaluate the effectiveness of the teach-back method in improving communication between registered nurses and people receiving healthcare services in a community-based setting to address the issue of low health literacy. DESIGN A quasi-experimental study, pre- and post-test design with an intervention group and a comparison group was conducted to study the teach-back method and the quality of communication between registered nurses and people receiving healthcare services in a community-based setting. METHODS For the intervention group, the registered nurses integrated the teach-back method into the delivery of healthcare services to enhance communication with people who received services at various community-based sites. The comparison group received healthcare services at various community-based sites, without the teach-back method. A retrospective pre- and post-test questionnaire was administered to the participants in the study to measure communication with registered nurses. FINDINGS The post-test mean score (M = 5.58, SD = .743) of the intervention group was significantly higher than their mean pre-test score (M = 5.17, SD = 1.195), t(434) = -7.727, p < .001, Cohen's d = .371. The difference between the pre- and post-test mean scores of the comparison group was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS The findings confirmed the effectiveness of the teach-back method for improving patient communication among people receiving healthcare services in a community-based setting. CLINICAL EVIDENCE Community health nurses can utilize the teach-back method while delivering healthcare services to improve patient communication and address health literacy among people in the community.