Morrow, D., Leirer, V., & Altieri, P. (1995). List formats improve medication instructions for older adults. Educational Gerontology, 21(2), 151-166.

Morrow, D.; Leirer, V.; Altieri, P

1995

Morrow, D., Leirer, V., & Altieri, P. (1995). List formats improve medication instructions for older adults. Educational Gerontology, 21(2), 151-166.

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Three experiments with a total of 90 adults (aged 59-84 yrs) investigated the effects of format (categorized list, simple list, or paragraph) and Ss' age and education level on comprehension and recall of medication instructions. Ss preferred the categorized list to the simple list and preferred both list formats to the paragraph (Exp 1). They answered questions about both list instructions more quickly (Exp 2), and recalled more information from the simple list than from the other instructions (Exp 3). Ss were also aware of the benefits of list instructions for comprehension and recall of medication information. Age and education level had no effect. Results suggest that medication instructions organized as a list help older adults understand how to take their medication and may motivate them to use these instructions as a guide to adherence. List instructions may also help structure pharmacist consultations.

Neither age nor instruction format influenced the accuracy of answering questions about the instructions. A marginally significant effect of education suggested that more educated subjects were more accurate than less educated subjects. Answer time decreased with more explicit formats. Subjects found information more quickly from the lists than from the paragraph instructions, and the two list formats were equally effective.

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