Date of Conferral

4-30-2025

Date of Award

April 2025

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Mattie Burton

Abstract

This staff education project focused on improving nurses’ and mental health clinicians’ knowledge about the teach-back method (TBM) to improve psychotropic medication adherence. The practice problem was psychotropic nonadherence among inmates in a county jail in the Southeast region of the United States. The practice project question for this project was the following: For nursing staff and mental health clinicians in the jail, will training on the use of the TBM increase knowledge toward the goal of decreasing nonadherence to psychotropic medications among inmates? Psychotropic nonadherence is a significant issue in the jail that can lead to serious consequences including exacerbation of mental health symptoms, relapses, rehospitalization, and a greater risk of violence and suicide (Loots et al., 2021). Pretests and postteaching tests were conducted to assess changes in staff’s knowledge, and t tests were used to analyze the differences in scores. The results showed a significant improvement in the staff’s understanding of the TBM, with a mean score increase from 5.41 to 9.65 and a p value of < .0001, indicating a significant increase in understanding and greater consistency among the staff. This project aimed to educate nurses and mental health clinicians on the TBM so they could better educate inmates about their psychotropic medications, thereby empowering the inmates to become change agents, improving their medication adherence, improving nursing practice, promoting social change, and advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in correctional health care. Recommendations included (a) further integration of the TBM in corrections to improve medication adherence, (b) ongoing staff training, and (c) identifying champions to support TBM use and effectiveness.

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