Effectiveness of teach-back for chronic kidney disease patient education: A systematic review

Abstract

Background: Education is an essential component in optimising chronic disease self-management. Teach-back is a robust approach in patient education, which is suitable for varying health literacy although its effectiveness in chronic kidney disease patient education is unknown.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of teach-back method in health education for improving self-management and adherence to treatment regimens in chronic kidney disease.

Design: Systematic review.

Participants: Adults with any chronic kidney disease grade or treatment modality.

Measurements: A comprehensive search was undertaken in MEDLINE, CINHAL, EMBASE, Cochrane library, PsychINFO, Web of Science, ERIC, JBI library and WHO International Clinical Trial Registry to identify published studies from September 2013 to December 2022. The methodological quality of studies was assessed using Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines.

Results: Six studies involving 520 participants were retrieved for this review. A meta-analysis could not be conducted due to substantial heterogeneity between studies. Nevertheless, there was some evidence that teach-back could improve self-management, self-efficacy and knowledge. There was limited evidence on improvement in psychological outcomes or health-related quality of life.

Conclusion: Teach-back seems to improve both objective and patient-reported outcomes, although further studies are needed. Using teach-back can improve both understanding of health information and the development of skills. Kidney care teams could use teach-back for all patients as it takes account of varying patient health literacy abilities. Teach-back assists with communicating important health information to improve patients' knowledge, confidence and skills in self-managing this disease and its treatment.

Keywords: Adherence; chronic kidney disease; self-management; teach-back; treatment regimens.