Promoting health literacy through the teach back method among Iranian health ambassadors: A randomized controlled trial.
Ahmad Sotoudeh, Mojtaba Fattahi Ardakani, Mohammad Saeed Jadgal and 2 others
PMID 35485630WHAT IT FOUND
Health ambassadors who learned through teach-back scored higher on health literacy than those given routine education.
The intervention group's mean score rose to 69.13 while the control group stayed at 58.76. Teach-back requires learners to explain information back in their own words.
Key findings
01Teach-back improved overall health literacy compared to routine education, with the intervention group reaching a mean score of 69.13 versus 58.76 in controls.
02Improvements were seen across all five dimensions of health literacy including reading, access, understanding, appraisal, and decision-making.
03The proportion of participants with good or very good health literacy increased from 50% to 78% in the intervention group, while the control group saw little change.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study did not control for other information sources participants may have accessed, such as family members or media, which could have influenced health literacy scores independently of the intervention. The outcome measure (health literacy) is a proxy for actual health behaviors; the study did not report changes in specific health actions or clinical outcomes. Blinding of participants to the intervention type was not possible, which may introduce performance bias.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume this method directly improves patient health behaviors or clinical outcomes based on this study alone. The primary endpoint was a health literacy questionnaire score, not actual health improvements, and the study population was community health ambassadors, not patients receiving direct care.