Teach-Back: Intervention
Patient and Family Engagement in Primary Care
Note: Resources on this page were used in testing the Guide to Improving Patient Safety in Primary Care Settings by Engaging Patients and Families. The materials were improved as a result of the testing process. You can find the final version of the Guide at: https://www.ahrq.gov/patient-safety/reports/engage.html.
Get Started With Teach-Back
Teach-Back Implementation Quick Start Guide: The Quick Start Guide provides clinicians and practice staff with five simple steps for implementing teach-back in the office setting. It is available in two sizes for printing—a full-page format or a half-page brochure:
- Teach-Back webinar recording
- Quick Start Guide Full Page (PDF, 556 KB)
- Quick Start Guide Brochure (PDF, 400 KB)
Materials To Support Implementation
For Patients and Families
| Material | Uses | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
A Patient’s Guide to Teach-Back [PDF, 1.3 MB] |
|
Poster, flyer, or handout that explains the goal of teach-back and the patient and family role in teach-back. |
For Clinicians
| Material | Uses | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Job aid that contains tips and examples of plain language, which can be handed out as pocket card or posted at workstations. |
|
Conviction and Confidence Scale [PDF, 441 KB] |
|
Self-assessment for clinicians to evaluate confidence in using teach-back. |
For Practice Staff
| Material | Uses | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Teach-Back: A Guide for Staff [PDF, 144 KB] |
|
Handout that explains the goal of teach-back, the teach-back process, and the role of practice staff in implementation. |
|
Are You Using Teach-Back? Survey [PDF, 153 KB] |
|
Short survey for all members of the practice (clinicians and staff) to assess the use of teach-back. |
Materials for Teaching and Learning
- Teach-Back Interactive Learning Module for Clinicians and Practice Staff
- Module
- Accessible Version (PDF, 2 MB)
Additional AHRQ Materials—Teach-Back
- Use the Teach-Back Method, Tool 5 of the AHRQ Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit
- Using the Teach-Back Technique from the SHARE Approach Toolkit, which contains resources on shared decisionmaking
