Interdisciplinary medication education in a church environment

Area of Science:

• Health Education
• Ambulatory Care Pharmacy
• Patient Medication Adherence

Background:

• Medication education is crucial for ambulatory care patients to ensure safe and effective drug use.
• Community settings like churches can be effective venues for health education programs.
• Assessing patient medication experiences and knowledge gaps is essential for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a medication education program delivered in a church setting to ambulatory care patients.
• To assess the impact of the program on patients' daily medication intake, drug-related problems, and information-seeking behaviors.
• To identify medication misuse and provide pharmacist recommendations within the program.

Main Methods:

• A medication education program was implemented across 20 churches, involving pharmacist-led sessions and patient interviews.
• Patients completed pre-program assessments of medication experiences and post-program exit interviews.
• A six-month follow-up interview assessed long-term program impact on 187 patients.

Main Results:

• The church setting was well-received, and the program was deemed beneficial by almost all participants.
• Patients significantly reduced daily drug intake and experienced fewer drug-related problems post-program.
• Significantly more patients actively sought drug information after the program, with 359 pharmacist recommendations made due to identified medication misuse.

Conclusions:

• An interdisciplinary medication education program in a church setting is a successful model for improving patient medication management.
• Community-based health education can lead to significant improvements in medication adherence and reduction in adverse drug events.
• Targeted interventions addressing medication misuse, guided by pharmacist recommendations, are vital for patient safety.