Volume : 09, Issue : 04, April – 2022

Title:

25.PATIENTS’ SELF EFFICACY WITH MEDICATION USAGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF PRESCRIPTION ABBREVIATIONS
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Authors :

Ezegbe Chekwube Andrew*, Ezegbe Amarachi Grace*, Okorafor Ezinne Chinemerem, Ubaka Chukwuemeka Michael

Abstract :

Patients do share part of the blame of medication errors and this stems from their inability to effectively adhere to instructions on the use of medicines and inaccurate self-interpretation of prescriptions. This study assessed the patients’ self-reported efficacy in their medication usage and their ability to understand and interpret common prescription terms in the absence of a pharmacist. The Medication Usage Self-Efficacy (MUSE) questionnaire was used to evaluate the patients’ self –efficacy with their medication. Knowledge of prescription terms was evaluated using eight most commonly used prescription terms in hospital setting. After ethical approval was granted, outpatients visiting two nearby hospitals in the region were approached to complete the survey. Completed questionnaires were subjected to statistical analysis and study findings reported. Four hundred and twelve patients completed the survey. Majority of the patients were females (60.2 %) and were aged less than 40 years (62.2 %). Patients exhibited very good self-efficacy with their medication usage (mean score of 3.15 of 4.00). Knowledge of prescription terms was generally below average among these patients. Percentage of correct responses to Latinized prescription terms were 68.0 % (highest) and 27.4 % (lowest) for Intramuscular (IM) and every day (QD) respectively. Mean difference analysis showed that only young age (< 30 years) was significantly associated with better self-efficacy of medication usage (p < 0.05) and patients from urban hospital were significantly knowledgeable than there rural counterparts (54.8% vs. 43.7%, p < 0.05). Patients showed above average self-efficacy in the usage of their medications but exhibited generally poor knowledge in understanding prescription terms. This could pose a problem in the absence of a Pharmacist as these patients might seek to purchase their drugs from the local chemists and medicine vendors who might not be able to properly interpret the prescriptions.
Keywords: Prescription; medication usage self-efficacy (MUSE); medication error; self-efficacy.

Cite This Article:

Please cite this article in press Ezegbe Chekwube Andrew et al, Patients’ Self Efficacy With Medication Usage And Understanding Of Prescription Abbreviations., Indo Am. J. P. Sci, 2022; 09(04).,

Number of Downloads : 10

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