Understanding medication-related needs of low-literacy patients.
An important thrust in preparing pharmacy students to provide pharmaceutical care is acquiring sensitivity to the unique medication-related needs of at-risk patient populations. Low literacy, which affects 21% to 23% of the American population, defines one such population. In collaboration with the Lafayette Adult Reading Academy (LARA), the authors developed an evolving project to increase pharmacy studies' understanding of the medication-related needs and perspectives of low-literacy patients. This was accomplished through a relation-building, three-step oral interview process. The interviewers asked open-ended questions to assess each patient's medication use habits and perspectives. The interview sensitized the pharmacy students to the needs of low-literacy patients for pharmaceutical care. The principal finding was that a caring relationship between pharmacists and patients is prerequisite to patients' openness to share and receive advice about problems and misconceptions associated with their medication use experiences.
Olson
R M
RM
School of Pharmacy and Pharmacal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind, USA.
Blank
D
D
Cardinal
E
E
Hopf
G
G
Chalmers
R K
RK
D000328:Adult; D003157:Community Pharmacy Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011932:Reading