Medication management and adherence among cognitively impaired older adults.
This study examined the relationship between patients' cognitive status, deficit awareness, medication management skills, and actual medication adherence. Twenty-seven persons with Alzheimer's disease and 20 healthy controls were evaluated for their predicted and objective performance on tasks related to medication management. Caregivers were also evaluated for their prediction of the care recipient's management abilities. A pill count was taken at the initial interview and 30 days later. MMSE and deficit awareness were related to amount of help received from a family member, suggesting that caregivers tend to accurately assess their relatives' medication management abilities. Adherence rates were acceptable, but some intervention strategies selected by caregivers were not effective in assuring adequate adherence. Additional study is needed to determine the effectiveness of various strategies adopted by informal caregivers.
Cotrell
Victoria
V
Graduate School of Social Work, Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA. cotrellv@pdx.edu
Wild
Katherine
K
Bader
Theresa
T
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000503:physiopathology; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001364:Awareness; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D009922:Oregon; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology*; D012646:Self Administration / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires