Abigail Snook, Alexander Pétur Kristjánsson and Steinunn Olafsdottir
Introduction: The verbal form of the Teach-back Method (TBM) (i.e., clients telling in their own words what they learned with the healthcare practitioner (HP) correcting misconceptions) should be used as patients only retain about 40% of what they are told. HPs often think they are using the TBM but are found not to use when observed. The purpose of this overview of systematic reviews was to summarize the literature on the TBM.
Methods: Searches were performed in PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar for systematic reviews. The quality of the reviews was evaluated using the AMSTAR 2 checklist.
Results: Nine systematic reviews, published between 2016-2022, out of an initial search (n=992) met the criteria with a total of 204 different articles. The reviews were judged to have a high risk of bias and were difficult to compare due to high heterogeneity. Reviews focused on different populations and looked at the impact on re-admissions, hospital discharges, adherence, client satisfaction, disease-specific knowledge and recall, self-efficacy, quality of life, and self-care management. Regardless of the outcome measure, all reviews concluded that the TBM had a significant, positive effect on the measure. The reviews emphasized the need for HPs to use words that convey to the patient that good teaching is the HP’s responsibility when using the TBM.
Conclusion: The TBM is an effective method for improving important patient outcomes. The TBM needs to be modeled correctly and practiced as an easy and effective way to improve patient outcomes. Quality research is needed.
