Improving patient and caregiver new medication education using an innovative teach-back toolkit

Background: Patients and caregivers are often not adequately informed about new medications. Nurses can lead innovations that improve new medication education. Local Problem: Healthcare Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) scores on medication questions trailed state and national levels in one Midwestern hospital. Methods: This quality improvement project, guided by the Ottawa Model of Research Use and the Always Use Teach-back! innovative toolkit, used a 1-group pre- and post education design with RNs, patients, and caregivers. Intervention: RNs (n = 25) were observed in patient/caregiver education and surveyed in confidence/conviction in the teach-back method before and after education. Patients’ (n = 74) and caregivers’ (n = 33) knowledge was assessed. Results: RNs reported significant increases in conviction in the importance of (P \u3c .0001), confidence in using (P \u3c .0001), and frequency in using (P \u3c .0001) teach-back. With teach-back, both patients and caregivers recalled the purpose and side effects of new medications. Specific HCAHPS scores increased from 6% to 10%. Conclusion: The teach-back method strengthened safe nursing practice and enhanced quality in new medication education

The Lived Experience of Hope in Family Caregivers Caring for a Terminally Ill Loved One

Caring for a terminally ill loved one has been described as work that is exhausting and difficult. One factor that influences well-being for caregivers is hope. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the question: What is the meaning of hope for the family caregiver in the context of end-of-life care and what nursing actions influence hope? Data collection through open-ended dialogic engagement occurred at two time points to capture the essence of the experience for family caregivers throughout the end-of-life experience. Participants (n = 6) were recruited within a rural, Midwestern hospice program in the United States. The lived experience of hope for family caregivers in this population emerged as four interconnecting themes: engaging, strengthening, and maintaining connections; easing of self; finding meaning in the situation; and acceptance. Hope for family caregivers assists navigation through the caregiving experience, finding positive meaning within the situation, and moving toward an acceptance of the situation and healing. Hope is supported through nursing actions of relational and informational support. Nurses and other healthcare professionals are in a prime position to offer support through a variety of interventions and actions, which are aimed at positively influencing hope in this population