Abstract
Plenty of potential drug-related problems was noted in the middle-aged and elderly. Pharmacists play an important role in managing medication problems for the elderly. Effective communication is essential for pharmacists to coordinate their opinions with patients to improve the effectiveness of drug treatment and reduce drug-related problems. Few research was focused on patients’ own abilities to communicate with health professionals even though it is also vital for the effectiveness of drug treatment. The purpose of this study was to design a communication training program for middle-age and older adults not only to enhance their understanding of pharmacists’ roles and the importance to communicate with pharmacists, but to improve their self-efficacy about drug-related communication and the ability to list the recent medication. A non-randomized control-group pretest-posttest design was conducted in Tainan City. Through a focus group interview, we ensured the appropriateness of the training program. We recruited 200 adults over 45 years old and distributed them into the experimental group or control group. The experimental group underwent the training program after the pretest, while no intervention was provided to the control group. Face-to-face and role-playing sessions were in process with a teaching manual in the courses. This study established the content of the training program after the focus group interview. Through this program, knowledge of pharmacists’ roles and self-efficacy of drug-related communication were significantly improved in the experimental group (p<.05). Completion of the recent medication list was also improved from 29.8% to 71.2% and was significantly higher than the control group.
Author Information
Yi-Wei Sun, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan
Hui-Ching Weng, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan
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