Designing written medication instructions: effective ways to help older adults self-medicate

Abstract

One of the goals of Healthy People 2010 is for 95% of patients who are ordered medication to receive written medication instructions. The declining physical condition often associated with advanced age, lower literacy levels, and education among members of the current elderly cohorts, and increasingly complex medication regimes for chronic illness affect the ability of many older adults to learn. This article addresses Geragogy, the art and science of helping older adults learn, complimentary theories of learning, and examples of how they can be used to guide the construction of appropriate written medication instructions for older adults.