The purpose of this project was to implement an educational program that provided psychiatric nurses with the knowledge and skills to engage patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia in self-care management regarding medication and treatment adherence. The theory employed in the project was the educational theory. Evidence of effectiveness came from a pre- and postintervention assessment of nurses' knowledge and confidence in teaching about medication, along with a pre- and postassessment of knowledge gained as a result of the educational intervention. Pre- and posteducational rates of patient rehospitalization for medication nonadherence were compared. The results indicated a 15% rate of readmission of schizophrenia patients prior to the educational sessions. The 30-day readmission rate decreased to approximately 5% after the educational sessions. Based on these results, it was concluded that the educational project intervention had a positive impact on improving knowledge and insight of the nurses about nonadherence to medication among patients with schizophrenia. The positive social impact of improving nurses' knowledge of educating schizophrenic patients are increased patient well-being and reduced social costs associated with relapse and readmission. Recommendations from this project include that nurses should educate patients with schizophrenia on how to adhere to medication directives and the importance of doing so.

Class of 2015 Abstract / Objectives: To compare the self-reported medication knowledge and attitudes of patients with psychiatric disorders who attended a patient medication education group (PMEG) versus those who did not. Methods: A convenience sample of 288 patients being discharged from an adult inpatient psychiatric unit was used. Just prior to discharge, patients were offered the opportunity to complete a questionnaire to assess their medication knowledge and attitudes. Patients who consented and attended the PMEG were assigned to the treatment group (n=81), while those who did not attend the PMEG were assigned to the control group (n= 207). The survey included nine statements for which the patients selected either agree or disagree. A Rasch analysis was used to analyze scaled questions. Chi-squared tests and Mann-Whitney U were used to analyze nominal and ordinal data, respectively. Demographic data was also collected. An alpha priori of 0.05 was applied. A Bonferroni correction was applied for multiple tests. Results: Patients who attended the PMEG were found to have a higher level of education compared to those who did not attend (p=0.037). There were no significant differences in knowledge and/or attitudes between those who attended PMEG during this admission versus those who did not attend (p=0.065). However, those who attended a PMEG during a previous hospital admission had a more positive attitude toward taking their medications (p=0.025). Conclusions: Results suggest that attitudes toward taking medications may gradually improve over time after patients attend a PMEG during an acute inpatient psychiatric admission.

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