Date of Conferral

8-31-2026

Date of Award

August 2026

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Corinne Wheeler

Abstract

Summary Patient education delivered without a standardized communication protocol for patients with serious mental illness (SMI), especially for those who face disproportionate health literacy deficits, cognitive challenges, and stigma, may increase the risk of medication misunderstanding and non-adherence. An outpatient psychiatric practice lacked a standardized patient education protocol. This quality improvement staff education initiative equipped all clinical nursing staff with the 5Ts for Teach Back framework, an evidence-based, five-step method endorsed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), The Joint Commission (TJC), and the American Hospital Association (AHA), and grounded with evidence in 13 sources at Levels I through III according to the JohnsHopkinsEvidence-Based. All 18 eligible staff attended the 60-minute session (100% attendance). The group means indicate that knowledge score improved from 32.99% preprogram to 89.93% postprogram (mean gain of +56.94), and mean confidence rose from 2.3 to 4.4 on a 5-point scale, with program evaluation results averaging 4.6 out of 5.0. These findings support adopting teach-back as a permanent organizational standard, with the potential to be replicated across similar outpatient psychiatric settings to improve patient outcomes.

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