Evaluation of a medication education program for elderly hospital in-patients. Geriatric nursing (New York, N.Y.) [Geriatr Nurs] Journal article | | Title | Evaluation of a medication education program for elderly hospital in-patients. | | Author(s) | Shen Q, Karr M, Ko A, Chan DK, Khan R, Duvall D | | Source | Geriatr Nurs 2006 May-Jun; 27(3):184-92. | | Abstract | To improve elderly patients' understanding and safe usage of their medications. English-speaking hospital inpatients aged >/=65 years were recruited. They were self-medicating at home with at least 1 regular medication and had a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score of at least 20 out of 30. The patients were taught medication details on 3 consecutive days. The patients' medication knowledge was recorded before education and again at a home visit after discharge from hospital. Patient medication knowledge before education showed that participants knew 50% of brand names, dosage and times, 55% of medication purpose, and 15% of major side effects. At follow-up home visits, the relevant figures improved significantly to 90%, 85%, and 25%, respectively (P </= .05). Similar improvement occurred in the 2 patient groups with an MMSE score of 20 to 24 and 25 to 30 (P = .03). This simple, practical, nursing-staff-conducted program worked well in a hospital setting and resulted in improved medication knowledge, even in patients with mild cognitive impairment. | | Language | eng | | Pub Type(s) | Journal Article
| | PubMed ID | 16757390 |
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