Teach-Back Communication in Hypertension Education: Effects on Adults’ Health Information Comprehension

Abstract

Effective hypertension education requires not only accurate health information but also communication strategies that enable healthcare professionals to verify whether patients have understood the intended message. This study examined the effect of structured teach-back communication on hypertension health-information comprehension among adults. A quasi-experimental pretest–posttest control-group study was conducted at a public health center in Karanganyar Regency, Central Java, Indonesia. A total of 133 adults with hypertension completed the study, comprising 67 participants in the teach-back group and 66 in the standard-communication control group. Both groups received identical standardized hypertension educational content, while the intervention group additionally received a structured explain-ask-listen-assess-clarify-recheck teach-back protocol. Comprehension was measured using the 20-item Hypertension Health Information Comprehension Test (H-HICT). Mean H-HICT scores increased from 10.8 ± 2.4 to 17.1 ± 1.8 in the teach-back group and from 10.6 ± 2.5 to 13.7 ± 2.3 in the control group. After adjustment for baseline comprehension using ANCOVA, the teach-back group achieved significantly higher post-intervention comprehension than the control group, with an adjusted mean difference of 3.2 points (95% CI: 2.5–3.9; p < .001; partial η² = .39). Structured teach-back communication was associated with greater immediate comprehension of hypertension-related health information than standard communication. These findings highlight patient reformulation, clarification, and meaning verification as important components of effective health communication in hypertension education.