Date
8-2019
Department
School of Nursing
Degree
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Chair
Cynthia Goodrich
Keywords
Teach-back, Health Literacy, Hypertension, DASH Diet
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences | Nursing
Recommended Citation
Spencer, Patrice Helen, "The Implementation of the Teach-Back Method in Dash Diet Education to Improve Blood Pressure Control in Patients with Hypertension and Low Health Literacy" (2019). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 2179.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/2179
Abstract
Low health literacy is closely correlated with poorly-managed chronic disease conditions. Hypertension is a common chronic disease condition which can be better controlled through compliance with the dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) diet; however, patients with low health literacy may have difficulty understanding the DASH diet without proper education. The teach-back method is an evidence-based education tool which can empower patients with low health literacy to better control the management of hypertension through adherence to the DASH diet. This is an evidence-based project which purposes to reveal the effectiveness of the teach-back method in providing DASH diet education in improving blood pressure control and promoting dietary compliance for patients with hypertension and low health literacy. The teach-back method was implemented into the DASH diet education in an urgent care setting which did not already have any education method in place to address health literacy. The project leader conducted a 24-hour dietary recall interview and blood pressure measurement with the participants prior to the education and eight-weeks after the education to evaluate the effect of the intervention on dietary compliance and blood pressure management. The project revealed a significant decrease in participants’ systolic blood pressure and slight decrease in diastolic blood pressure after the intervention. Additionally, participants displayed an overall increase in fruit and vegetable intake as well as a reduction in sodium intake after the intervention. The teach-back method can greatly influence patients’ dietary compliance and subsequently can improve patients’ management of chronic disease conditions such as hypertension.
