Date
7-2020
Department
School of Nursing
Degree
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Chair
Cynthia Goodrich
Keywords
Low Health Literacy, Hospital Readmission, Teach-back Method
Disciplines
Nursing
Recommended Citation
Goodwin, Melissa S., "Low Health Literacy Impact on Heart Failure Patients' Readmissions: An Integrative Review" (2020). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 2577.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/2577
Abstract
Heart failure is a common chronic disease that affects numerous people throughout the world. Low health literacy plays a critical role in heart failure mismanagement. The purpose of this systematic review was to summarize what is known about the impact of health literacy of heart failure patients’ readmissions. MEDLINE, CINAHL, PSYCHINFO, and PUBMED databases were searched for the years 2010-2020 and for English language articles. The findings indicated that low health literacy has a significant impact on heart failure patients’ unplanned readmissions. Interventions for low health literacy also affect outcomes for heart failure patients; for example, reduce unplanned hospital readmissions. Additionally, the teach-back technique is embraced by organizations, and an example is the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), which has a compelling strategy for affirming comprehension of health care effects in HF patients. More attention should be focused on assessing heart failure patients for low health literacy.
