EFFECT OF INSTRUCTION ON COMPREHENSION AND RECALL OF PRESCRIPTION DRUG LABEL INFORMATION IN OLDER ADULTS (PATIENT EDUCATION, MEDICATION INSTRUCTION).
Contributors: Wayne State University.
Published: 1992
Number of pages: 146
Subjects: Education, Higher.; Health Sciences, Nursing.; Gerontology.; Health Sciences, Education.; Education, Health.
Description: Older adults are the fastest growing segment of the population. They consume the largest quantities of prescription and nonprescription medication compared to other age groups, often using drugs on a daily basis over extended periods of time. They are prime candidates for many types of medication errors often as a result of an inadequate understanding of the drug regimen, misinterpreting the medical professionals' instructions, or noncomprehension of labeled prescription information. In order to determine if there was a need to develop a continuing education program for medical professionals to teach them to instruct their older patients correct self-medication practices, this research investigated the effects of an educational program for adults 65 and older in the correct use of prescription label information.

The study incorporated a quasiexperimental, descriptive research design involving adults 65 and older from the Detroit metropolitan area and suburbs. Analysis of variance was used to investigate the research questions at the.05 level of confidence. Seventy-five subjects met the protocols of the study and completed all pre and posttest measurements.

The instruments used in this study included a modified version of the Drug Knowledge Assessment Questionnaire and the Medication Knowledge Scale. The dependent variables studied were the pretest and posttest scores of the two instruments before and after treatment. Two research questions were addressed individually using inferential statistical techniques including analysis of variance and t-tests for dependent samples.

On the basis of research findings, teaching appears to be an effective method of communicating prescription therapy to older adults. Other major findings evidenced no differences in the acquirement of drug and medication knowledge based on demographic characteristics.

This research suggests that patient education is a critical component of health care with the health professional becoming a facilitator of learning and problem solving to help patients understand medical information to benefit their health status. The need for patient education as a more structured organized activity among health professionals needs more commitment and implementation in higher education curricula.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-01, Section: A, page: 0103.

Thesis (PH.D.)--WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY, 1992.

School code: 0254.