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Medication Adherence in New Zealand Older Adults: Effects of an External Cognitive Support

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 February 2012

June Greyvenstein ,
Nikolaos Kazantzis  and
Nancy A. Pachana
June Greyvenstein
Affiliation:
Massey University, New Zealand
Nikolaos Kazantzis
Affiliation:
Massey University, New Zealand
Nancy A. Pachana*
Affiliation:
The University of Queensland, Australia
*
School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Australia. E-mail: n.pachana@psy.uq.edu.au
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Abstract

Pharmacotherapy is the most frequently used treatment modality among the older adult population. Consequently, medication adherence represents an important treatment consideration. The present study was conducted to assess the extent of medication adherence in the New Zealand sample, and evaluate the effectiveness of an external cognitive support in a sample of 50 community-dwelling older adults (M = 70.70, Mdn = 72.00, SD = 8.12). A randomised controlled trial to compare the usual medication practice with a medication calendar was conducted. The present sample had high levels of medication adherence, with high adherence measured on an adherence ratio 97% (range 82% to 109%), and low rate of medication errors (19 errors). There were no significant differences in medication adherence between intervention and control groups (ps > .05). However, consistent with prior research, there was some evidence to suggest that female participants were less compliant and made more errors than male participants. Further research on larger more representative older adult samples is warranted.

Type
Articles
Information
The Australian Journal of Rehabilitation Counselling , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , January 2005 , pp. 69 - 83
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2005

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