The Effect of the 5T Teach-Back Method on Respiratory Exercise and Incentive Spirometer Training

Summary

Breathing problems after surgery are common and can lead to serious complications such as low oxygen levels, lung collapse, or pulmonary embolism. These problems increase patient risk and place an additional burden on the healthcare system. Breathing exercises and incentive spirometer use are important methods to prevent these complications. However, many patients have difficulty understanding and correctly performing these exercises when education is limited to standard verbal instructions. This randomized controlled study aims to evaluate whether the 5T Teach-Back education method improves patients' understanding, practical skills, respiratory outcomes, and satisfaction compared with standard verbal education. The study will be conducted in a university hospital and will include 76 adult patients undergoing abdominal surgery under general anesthesia. Participants will be randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a control group.

Patients in the intervention group will receive preoperative breathing exercise and incentive spirometer training using the 5T Teach-Back method, which encourages patients to explain the information back in their own words and repeat the skills until they are correctly understood. Patients in the control group will receive routine verbal education provided by clinical nurses. Outcomes will be measured before surgery and again within 24-72 hours after surgery. These outcomes include patients' knowledge level, correct performance of breathing exercises and spirometer use, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, lung function test results, and patient satisfaction with nursing care. The results of this study are expected to show whether the 5T Teach-Back method is more effective than standard education in improving postoperative respiratory care and patient satisfaction. The findings may help standardize patient education practices and support nurses in delivering more effective respiratory training before surgery.

Conditions

• Postoperative Pulmonary Complications
• Atelectasis
• Patient Education
• Respiratory Exercises
• Incentive Spirometry

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

5T Teach-Back-Based Respiratory Exercise and Incentive Spirometer Education

This intervention involves preoperative respiratory exercise and incentive spirometer education delivered using the structured 5T Teach-Back method. Education is provided individually by a trained nurse and includes demonstration, patient return demonstration, and repeated instruction until correct understanding and performance are achieved. The five steps of the 5T Teach-Back approach (Triage, Tools, Take Responsibility, Tell Me, and Try Again) are systematically applied to ensure patient comprehension and skill mastery. Sessions last approximately 20-30 minutes and are completed before surgery. Unlike routine verbal education, this intervention actively engages patients in explaining and performing the exercises in their own words, allowing immediate correction of misunderstandings and reinforcing correct technique

BEHAVIORAL

Standard Verbal Respiratory Education

This intervention consists of routine verbal education on respiratory exercises and incentive spirometer use provided by clinical nurses as part of standard preoperative care. Education is delivered according to usual clinical practice without a structured teaching framework, return demonstration, or formal assessment of patient understanding. No standardized duration, repetition, or feedback process is applied. This intervention reflects typical routine care and differs from structured educational approaches by relying solely on conventional verbal instruction.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Suleyman Demirel University

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-01-15

Primary Completion

2027-01-15

Completion

2027-01-15