Document Detail


Medication instruction design: younger and older adult schemas for taking medication.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  8976621     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
We examined whether older and younger adults share a schema for taking medication and whether instructions are better recalled when they are organized to match this schema. Experiment 1 examined age difference in schema organization. Participants sorted medication items (e.g., purpose, dose, possible side effects) according to similarity and then ordered the items to create a preferred instruction set. Cluster analysis of the sort and order data showed that younger and older adults share a schema for taking medication. Secondary regression analyses found that verbal ability (i.e., vocabulary scores) predicted individual differences in schema organization. In Experiment 2 participants recalled instructions that were either compatible with this schema in terms of grouping and order of items or were presented in nonpreferred orders. Younger participants remembered more information than did older participants, but both age groups better remembered and preferred the more schema-compatible instructions. Secondary analyses showed that recall was also positively related to verbal ability. Along with our earlier research, this study suggests that older and younger adults possess a schema for taking medication and that instructions that are compatible with this schema provide an environmental support that improves memory for medication information.
Authors:
D G Morrow; V O Leirer; J M Andrassy; E D Tanke; E A Stine-Morrow
Publication Detail:
Type:  Comparative Study; Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Human factors     Volume:  38     ISSN:  0018-7208     ISO Abbreviation:  Hum Factors     Publication Date:  1996 Dec 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  1997-02-10     Completed Date:  1997-02-10     Revised Date:  2007-11-15    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0374660     Medline TA:  Hum Factors     Country:  UNITED STATES    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  556-73     Citation Subset:  IM; S    
Affiliation:
Decision Systems, Los Altos, California, USA.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adult
Age Factors
Aged / psychology*
Aged, 80 and over
Cluster Analysis
Humans
Mental Recall*
Middle Aged
Patient Education as Topic*
Regression Analysis
Self Administration / psychology*
Grant Support
ID/Acronym/Agency:
R01 AGO9254/AG/NIA NIH HHS

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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