Use of Teach Back to Improve Comprehension of Discharge Instructions for Emergency Patients With Limited Health Literacy

Conditions Influencing Health Status Clinical Trial

Official title:

The Impact of Teach-back on Comprehension of Discharge Instructions Among Emergency Patients With Limited Health Literacy: A Randomized, Controlled Study

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT01968291
• Other study ID #: 201206011
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• First received: October 10, 2013
• Last updated: October 22, 2013
• Start date: June 2012
• Est. completion date: August 2012

Study information

• Verified date: October 2013
• Source: Washington University School of Medicine
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: United States: Institutional Review Board
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The purpose of this study was to determine whether use of teach-back discharge instructions improve patient satisfaction and patients' self-reported and objective comprehension of discharge instructions in the emergency department when compared to standard discharge instructions.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 254
• Est. completion date: August 2012
• Est. primary completion date: August 2012
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: Both
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• patients being discharged from the emergency department

• A score of 6 or less on the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine, Revised (consistent with Limited Health Literacy)

Exclusion Criteria:

• aphasia,

• non-English speaking,

• mental handicap,

• psychiatric chief complaint,

• too high acuity per physician,

• insurmountable communication barrier,

• evaluations for sexual assault,

• clinical intoxication.

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Open Label, Primary Purpose: Health Services Research

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Conditions Influencing Health Status
• Emergencies

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Teach-back
Patients are asked to repeat back in their own words their understanding of the discharge information that was provided to them.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Barnes-Jewish Hospital Emergency Department	St. Louis	Missouri

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Washington University School of Medicine

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Other	patient satisfaction	Patient satisfaction as measured by 4 questions modified from the Consumer Assessment of Health Providers & Systems (CAHPS) Clinician & Group Surveys	Questions evaluating satisfaction were administered during the discharge interview immediately following discharge from the ED at the index visit (Day 1).	No
Primary	Objective comprehension	Concordance between audio taped comprehension compared to review of medical record using 5 level scale of concordance	Questions evaluating comprehension were administered during the discharge interview immediately following discharge from the ED at the index visit (Day 1).	No
Secondary	self-reported comprehension	self reported comprehension of discharge instructions for the following areas: emergency department (ED) course (Tests and treatment); Post-ED care (medication instructions; home instructions; follow-up instructions); Return instructions.	Questions evaluating self-reported comprehension were administered during the discharge interview immediately following discharge from the ED at the index visit (Day 1).	No