title: An assessment of the drug therapy education preferences of an interdisciplinary group interested in the elderly.
abstract: A survey was conducted to measure the drug therapy education preferences of a diverse group of professionals interested in the elderly. Two hundred forty-four surveys were mailed and 119 were returned (48.8 percent). Seventy-two percent of the respondents were social workers; four percent were registered nurses; the remainder of the respondents (24 percent) were non-health professionals. Most respondents liked all common methods of instruction except self-directed activities and large group discussions. The five topics of greatest interest were drug interactions, adverse drug effects, drugs used to treat depression, drugs used to treat nervousness or anxiety, and drugs used to manage dementia. A survey is an economical means of assessing the preferences of an unfamiliar audience. The methods used to determine content for this program can be used by educators who are planning programs for similar audiences made up of health and non-health professionals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, West Virginia University, Charleston 25304.
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Elliott
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Harvit
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003625:Data Collection; D004358:Drug Therapy; D006801:Humans; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D013663:Teaching