Status: Little or no detectable change
Most Recent Data:
26.3
percent
(2021)
Target:
32.2
percent
Desired Direction:
Increase desired
Baseline:
26.6
percent of adults aged 18 years and over reported that a health care provider asked them to describe how they will follow instructions in 2017
Increase the proportion of adults who report their health care provider always asked them to describe how they will follow instructions
Data Source: Medical Expenditure Panel (MEPS), AHRQ
Summary
People who don’t understand health information are less likely to get preventive health care and more likely to have health problems. Health care providers can help people understand health information, like instructions for care, by asking them to describe how they’ll follow the instructions in their own words. This is the first step of the teach-back method. Training more health care providers to use the teach-back method can help people better understand health information.
