Content area
Problem Statement: Health literacy affects all patients and healthcare organizations (MacLeod et al., 2017). Low health literacy has been linked to increased emergency department room visits, increased hospitalizations, decreased use of preventative medical care, and overall poorer health status of individuals, including higher healthcare costs and mortality rates (Coughlin et al., 2020).
Purpose: The purpose of the scholarly project is to introduce an evidence-based method to the emergency department by implementing a survey for emergency department nursing staff to gauge understanding surrounding the teach-back method and its effectiveness. Additionally, this project will assess nurses’ confidence and willingness to incorporate this method at the time of patient discharge.
Methods: A non-experimental pre-and post-survey design to gauge emergency department nurses’ knowledge, confidence, and willingness to use the teach-back method before and after attending an educational seminar.
Inclusion Criteria: Registered nurses currently employed in the emergency department of the project facility, have never participated in a project involving the use of the teach-back method, are over the age of 18 years, can speak and read the English language, and have access to a computer.
Analysis: Pre Use of Teach-Back Method: The most frequently observed category of participant’s current use of the teach-back was that they do not use it now, but plan to incorporate it within the next 2 to 6 months. (n = 5, 38.46%).
Pre- and Post-Knowledge: The most frequently observed category of participant’s current knowledge on the teach-back method was that many do not feel knowledgeable on how to use this method in their clinical practice (n = 4, 30.77%). The result of the two-tailed paired samples t-test was not significant based on an alpha value of .05, t (12) = -0.94, p = .367.
Pre- and Post-Confidence: The result of the two-tailed paired samples t-test was significant based on an alpha value of .05, t (12) = -3.59, p = .004.
Pre- and Post-Pertinence and Willingness to Change Practice: The most frequently observed category of pre-willingness to change practice was Agree (n = 5, 38.46%). The most frequently observed category of post-willingness to change practice was Agree (n = 7, 53.85%).
Implications for Practice: Nursing Practice: The project results support the need for ongoing standardized educational sessions, hands-on training, and refresher courses to ensure nurses are properly trained on how to adequately integrate the teach-back method as a standard discharge strategy when discharging patients.
Nursing Research: The results of this project promote the need for further studies on the teach-back method to identify the best approach on educational practices to achieve the most notable results surrounding the implementation of this method and its effectiveness in improving patient education and overall nursing practice.
Nursing Education: This scholarly project outlines the importance of implementing the use of the teach-back method within nursing education. By integrating this information into nursing school curriculum and the emergency department nursing onboarding process, it will help to improve education on the teach-back method and strengthen individual communication skills.
Nursing Leadership: This project advocates for the use of the teach-back method as a standard discharge method to improve patient outcomes, and therefore, pushes for the commitment of nursing management to provide employees with an effective way to support ongoing education.