Medication management roles in assisted living

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Health Services Research
• Nursing

Background:

• Assisted living (AL) residents often require medication management support.
• The social model of AL facilitates aging in place despite increasing health challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore roles in assisted living (AL) medication management.
• To assess satisfaction with unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) as medication aides.

Main Methods:

• A study involving 112 participants across 15 AL settings in four states.
• Participants included residents, medication aides, administrators, nurses (RNs and LPNs), pharmacists, and primary care providers.

Main Results:

• Described medication management roles within AL settings.
• Empirically validated existing AL nursing professional standards.
• Found satisfaction with UAP as medication aides from all stakeholder perspectives.

Conclusions:

• Creating supportive environments for UAP medication aides is clinically important.
• The registered nurse (RN) plays a vital role in facilitating AL medication management.
• Interprofessional collaboration and team development are essential across diverse healthcare settings.