The Relationship Between Quality of Discharge Teaching and Oral Nutritional Supplementation Adherence in Postoperative Patients With Gastric Cancer: A Chain Mediated Role of Readiness for Hospital Discharge and Medication Beliefs.
Fang Shen, Xiaoxue Chen, Hong Yu and 3 others
PMID 40622207WHAT IT FOUND
Higher reported discharge teaching quality was linked to greater discharge readiness, stronger beliefs about supplements, and better oral nutritional supplement adherence in 505 gastric cancer patients at one month.
This is association, not proof teaching caused adherence.
Key findings
01Patients who rated discharge teaching more highly also reported greater readiness for discharge, stronger beliefs about supplements, and better supplement adherence.
02In the model, discharge teaching was linked to supplement adherence directly, through readiness, through beliefs, and through readiness then beliefs.
03Average supplement adherence was 13.70 on a 6 to 30 scale, and the paper referenced a 15 point cutoff for poor versus good adherence.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that discharge teaching caused better supplement adherence. Patients were recruited by convenience sampling from one hospital in southeast China, so the results may not apply elsewhere. All main variables were self-reported by patients, so answers may reflect recall bias. Supplement adherence was measured only one month after discharge, not longer or objectively. The model examined only discharge teaching, readiness, and medication beliefs; other factors that affect adherence were not tested. The 15 point adherence cutoff was used for description only, not for statistical categorization.
Declared interests
No conflicts of interest were declared. The article text does not provide a funding statement.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that improving discharge teaching will improve supplement adherence. The study was cross-sectional and used patient reports, so it can show associations but not cause and effect.