Safe Use of Medication at Home by Caregivers. Experimental Study

Caregivers of Multi-pathological and Polypharmacy Adults

Medication Errors, Patient Safety, Psychoeducational Intervention, Risk Management, Health Literacy

Experimental study to test the effectiveness of a psychoeducational intervention using virtual reality, aimed at caregivers of multi-pathological and polypharmacy persons to promote safer medication use at home. Experimental design with two groups (experimental and control), pre-post measures, and participants assignment to groups by simple randomization. Null hypothesis. There will be no differences in the frequency of medication errors at home, the severity of the consequences of medication errors, perceived self-efficacy, and health literacy between caregivers using a dosing device (control group) and caregivers using a dosing device with the reinforcement of a psychoeducational intervention designed ad hoc (experimental group).

Background. Population aging is leading to an increase in the number of multi-pathological and polymedicated patients. These patients are at increased risk of suffering adverse events due to medication errors (ME), especially if Barthel≤55. The management of their medication places an added burden of stress on those who assume responsibility for their care. This task, due to the existing gender gap, falls more often on women. Objective. To promote the safe use of medication in the home by those who assume the role of caregivers of these patients. Method. Mixed research study. First: Nominal groups (N=128) and survey (N=1255) to design a psychoeducational intervention aimed at caregivers based on the identification of ME, its causes and consequences, and risk factors that contribute to ME. Second: Single-subject experimental design (two groups, experimental and control, with pre-post measures) to determine the effectiveness of the psycho-educational intervention (n=142). Setting. Primary care centers and caregivers' associations and training schools in Alicante, Granada, Madrid, Pamplona, Seville, and Zaragoza. Expected results. Identify critical elements for medication risk management in the home by caregivers. Low-cost psycho-educational intervention for safer use of medication adjusted to the possible different needs of male and female caregivers. The transfer of results will be mainly oriented to reinforce the action carried out by nursing and caregivers' training schools.

Spain