<![CDATA[Background: Dyspepsia is a common upper gastrointestinal disorder, and the success of its non-pharmacological management depends heavily on patient adherence to the diet. One-way and rushed education risks leaving patients with a lack of understanding and motivation to adhere to the diet. Objective: Analyzing the effect of therapeutic communication-based education on dietary compliance in dyspepsia patients in the inpatient ward. Methods: This quantitative study used a quasi-experimental design with a one-group pretest-posttest approach. The sample consisted of 43 dyspepsia patients in the internal medicine inpatient ward of Yuliddin Away Regional General Hospital, selected by purposive sampling in January–March 2026. Dietary compliance (accuracy of schedule, type, and portion of food) was measured using a questionnaire before education and 3 days after education, which followed the pre-orientation, orientation, work, and termination phases. Compliance categories consisted of non-compliant, moderately compliant, and compliant. Data were not normally distributed (Shapiro-Wilk test, p < 0.05), so they were analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test (α = 0.05). Results: Non-compliant patients decreased from 23 (53.5%) to 3 (7.0%), while compliant patients increased from 5 (11.6%) to 29 (67.4%). The mean compliance score increased from 14.28 ± 3.12 to 22.84 ± 2.65 (Z = -5.41, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Therapeutic communication-based education significantly improved dietary compliance in dyspepsia patients. This approach can be considered as part of patient education procedures in inpatient settings, with the caveat that findings need to be confirmed in a design with a control group.]]>
