Polypharmacy, the simultaneous use of multiple drugs to treat a single ailment or condition, is a
major health problem among the elderly population that contributes to adverse drug side events,
health risks, hospital readmissions, morbidity, and mortality. Therefore, a staff education
program geared toward reduction of such adverse drug events was implemented at a single site.
The purpose of the project was to determine if the staff education program would increase
knowledge of adverse drug events due to geriatric polypharmacy. The Orem theory provided the
theoretical support for the project, and the Iowa model guided the evidence-based practice
change process. Topics covered in the education program included medication safety,
appropriate drug usage, medication interactions, and other use issues of commonly prescribed
drugs for elderly patients. Twenty staff members from 1 assisted-living facility were recruited for
the education intervention. Assessments of staff member knowledge were collected before and
after the education intervention. Descriptive statistics were used to compare preintervention and
postintervention knowledge. Scores on the pretest ranged from 10% to 50% correct on the 10
items, and posttest scores ranged from 40% to 70% correct on the same items. The project is
expected to produce social change due to reduced incidence of geriatric polypharmacy and,
ultimately, decreased adverse drug effects resulting in patient morbidity, hospitalization, and
mortality.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:waldenu.edu/oai:scholarworks.waldenu.edu:dissertations-6013 |
| Date | 01 January 2017 |
| Creators | Ikemefuna, Valerie |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks |
| Source Sets | Walden University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies |
Page generated in 0.0096 seconds