Structured Teach-Back Discharge Education and Heart Failure Self-Care
- 1Advanced Heart Failure, HCA Florida JFK Hospital, Atlantis, Florida, USA
Abstract
Background: Heart failure readmissions remain high, often driven by poor understanding of discharge instructions and suboptimal self-care behaviors.
Project Rationale: Inconsistent discharge communication, limited patient understanding of discharge instructions, and suboptimal self-care behaviors were identified as key contributors to heart failure readmissions.
Project Summary: A quasi-experimental pre–post quality improvement project assessed the implementation of structured teach-back discharge education in 57 hospitalized patients with heart failure. Self-care behaviors were measured using the European Heart Failure Self-Care Behavior Scale-9 scale. Improvements were observed across all self-care behaviors (P < 0.001), with large effect sizes (Hedges’ g = 2.16). At 30 days, 1 of 57 patients (1.8%) was readmitted.
Take-Home Message: Structured teach-back discharge education is a simple, scalable strategy that may improve patient understanding of discharge instructions, strengthen heart failure self-care behaviors, and support safer transitions of care.
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BibTeX
@article{bierschenk2026structured,
title = {{Structured Teach-Back Discharge Education and Heart Failure Self-Care}},
author = {Sara E. Bierschenk},
journal = {JACC Case Reports},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1016/j.jaccas.2026.109234},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaccas.2026.109234},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Structured Teach-Back Discharge Education and Heart Failure Self-Care
AU - Sara E. Bierschenk
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/16
JO - JACC Case Reports
DO - 10.1016/j.jaccas.2026.109234
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaccas.2026.109234
AB - Background: Heart failure readmissions remain high, often driven by poor understanding of discharge instructions and suboptimal self-care behaviors. Project Rationale: Inconsistent discharge communication, limited patient understanding of discharge instructions, and suboptimal self-care behaviors were identified as key contributors to heart failure readmissions. Project Summary: A quasi-experimental pre–post quality improvement project assessed the implementation of structured teach-back discharge education in 57 hospitalized patients with heart failure. Self-care behaviors were measured using the European Heart Failure Self-Care Behavior Scale-9 scale. Improvements were observed across all self-care behaviors (P < 0.001), with large effect sizes (Hedges’ g = 2.16). At 30 days, 1 of 57 patients (1.8%) was readmitted. Take-Home Message: Structured teach-back discharge education is a simple, scalable strategy that may improve patient understanding of discharge instructions, strengthen heart failure self-care behaviors, and support safer transitions of care.
SN - 2666-0849
ER -