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Younger-Old and Older-Old Adults' Recall of Medication Instructions*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2010

Leslie McDonald-Miszczak ,
Shevaun D. Neupert  and
Gloria Gutman
Leslie McDonald-Miszczak*
Affiliation:
Western Washington University
Shevaun D. Neupert
Affiliation:
North Carolina State University
Gloria Gutman
Affiliation:
Simon Fraser University
*
Requests for offprints should be sent to: / Les demandes de tirês-à-part doivent être addressêes à : Leslie McDonald-Miszczak, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology Western Washington University, 516 High Street, MS 9089, Bellingham, WA 98225. ([email protected])
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Abstract

The present study was conducted to expand research showing that older adults' expectations that they will recall particular medication instructions do not coincide with their actual ability to do so. Seventy-one younger-old adults (M = 68.10 years, range = 57–74) and 62 older-old adults (M = 80.31 years, range = 75–89) made judgements about the likelihood of their recalling medication instructions and about their confidence in their recall. The results indicate that older-old adults recall fewer instructions than do younger-old adults and that both groups overestimate their ability to recall the instructions. This research suggests that problems remembering to take medication may be due, in part, to older adults' overestimating the ease with which they will remember medication instructions.

Résumé

La prêsente êtude a êtê menêe dans le but d'appuyer des recherches selon lesquelles les attentes des aînês, pour ce qui est de se rappeler des instructions relatives à certains mêdicaments, ne coïncidaient pas avec leurs aptitudes rêelles. Soixante et onze « jeunes aînês » (moyenne=68,10 ans, fourchette=57–74 ans), ainsi que soixante-douze aînês d'un âge plus avancê (moyenne=80,31 ans, fourchette=75–89 ans) ont êmis des jugements à l'êgard de la probabilitê qu'ils se rappellent des instructions relatives à un mêdicament ainsi que de leur confiance envers leur mêmoire. Les rêsultats indiquent que les aînês les plus âgês se sont souvenus des instructions moins frêquemment que les aînês moins âgês, et que les deux groupes ont surêvaluê leur aptitude à se souvenir des instructions. Cette recherche semble indiquer que les problèmes d'oubli de mêdicaments pourraient être dus, en partie, au fait que les aînês ont tendance à surestimer la facilitê avec laquelle ils vont se souvenir des instructions relatives aux mêdicaments.

Keywords

agingelderlyadherencememoryrecalllikelihood of recallvieillissementaînêsadhêsionmêmoirerappelsprobabilitê de se souvenir
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 24 , Issue 4 , Winter/Hiver 2005 , pp. 409 - 417
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2005

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Footnotes

*

This research was supported by a grant from the BC Health Research Foundation to Drs. McDonald-Miszczak and Gutman.

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