- Charlene Fate De La Cruz
- May2026
View the audio described version of Charlene Fate De La Cruz’s presentation
Abstract
Abstract Effective patient education is a main part of safe nursing, but the fast-paced environment of the Emergency Department (ED) limits the time nurses have for thorough discharge teaching. Many patients leave the hospital without really understanding how to use their medications, follow-up care needs, or what warning signs to watch for, which increases the risk of mistakes and coming back to the hospital. The purpose of this project was to conduct a literature review to find and summarize various evidence-based interventions that go beyond just standard practice to help patients understand better. Methods used includes focused search of scholarly, peer-reviewed sources to compare different clinical strategies like using specific health literacy assessments, visual aids, and digital follow-up tools and also having informal talks with healthcare stakeholders to see what stops effective communication in the real-world setting. Findings from the literature shows that while the teach-back method is common, focusing on health literacy with newer assessment tools and using multi-modal digital reminders gives a better approach for a busy ED. This project will be presented as a research poster aimed at synthesizing current evidence and promoting the use of practical, scalable strategies to improve patient understanding. A call to action is made for ED staff to start using a multi-faceted discharge plan that includes these newer strategies to make sure care is safe and patient-centered.
