Examples for how teach-back can be used for various purposes, in varied settings, by those in clinical and non-clinical roles; and guidance for helping people initiate teach-back for themselves.
Resources and Videos
- Examples of taking responsibility, teach-back topics, and non-shaming open-ended questions for various health team members and settings to help reveal what patients and family caregivers may not fully understand. Click here to download.
Using Teach-back in Various Health and Dental Settings
- Examples of how teach-back can be used in high-risk clinical and non-clinical situations when extra assurance that people fully understand is needed. Click here to download.
- Clinicians who prescribe, counsel, or provide support should use teach-back to help people understand and use their medicines. Click here to download.
- Use teach-back with transitions between providers or settings of care or services when people are at increased risk for harm. Click here to download.
Health and Dental Team Members Using Teach-back in Various Health and Dental Settings
Pediatrician using teach-back and show-back with patient and parent with a new asthma inhaler – English (1:35)
Internal Medicine physician using teach-back and show-back with Spanish-speaking patient and interpreter for asthma inhaler – Spanish (2:22)
Dentist using teach-back for HPV vaccine (:18)
Pharmacist using teach-back with a family member picking up a prescription for her grandfather (1:38)
Physical therapist using teach-back for patient exercises at a home health visit (1:41)
Clinical social worker using teach-back with grandparent about her granddaughter’s diabetes care services during a telemedicine visit (1:05)
Community health worker using teach-back while explaining COVID vaccination (1:32)
Using Teach-back and Related Health Literacy Practices in Non-clinical Settings
Using Teach-back and Related Health Literacy Practices in Non-clinical Settings
Mobile produce vendor not using plain language (:46)
Mobile produce vendor using plain language (1:01)
Mobile produce vendor asking for teach-back (0:10)
Mobile produce vendor asking for teach-back with a shopper – Shopper not explaining back correctly; Vendor takes responsibility to explain again (:29)
Mobile produce vendor using teach-back with a shopper – able to teach back (1:01)
Meeting attendees using teach-back (:40)
Helping People Initiate Teach-back from Health Team Members
- To help individuals improve their own health literacy, identify opportunities to share tips, tools, and approaches to get the most out of their health interactions. Partner with colleagues and patient advisory or advocacy groups to share ways to help people initiate teach-back if health team members do not do so. To learn more click here to download.
People Eliciting Teach-back from Health Team Members
Patient and nurse practitioner (1:07)
Grandmother and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurse (:45)
Family member and pharmacist (:47)
Customer at mobile produce market (:56)
Meeting participants (:40)
Using Teach-back in Practice for Different Professions or Settings: Lead-ins and Questions to Assist with Understanding Using Teach-back in Various Health and Dental Settings Teach-back in High-risk Health Situations Using Teach-back with Medicines Using Teach-back with Transitions in Care or Services Help People Learn to Initiate Teach-back from Health Team Members