EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVE ABOUT MEDICATION MANAGEMENT FOR OLDER ADULTS

Older adult patients often have multiple comorbidities, see multiple providers, leading to poor medication management (MM). Educational seminars were conducted to health care providers (HCPs) and community-based organizations to deliver health programs to linguistically diverse communities by a pharmacist utilizing interpreters. Participant knowledge was assessed using matched pre-post surveys (translated to participants’ respective languages). Behavioral intention was measured using a Likert scale. Results indicate participation from 136 community dwelling adults via 6 educational sessions; 44 caregivers via 5 sessions, and 22 HCPs (4 students and 22 residents) participated in one session. 91% of the community population were born outside of the US, 67% coming from South Asian countries, speaking over 7 different languages. Knowledge about medication management increased from an average of 44% correct responses pre-session to 48% correct post-session – a statistically significant change (t (135) =-2.26, p<.03). Most caregivers were females (82%) and born in a South Asian country (87%). Knowledge about medication management when caring for a loved one increased significantly from an average from pre (46%) to post (60%) (t (41) =-3.07, p< .01) Finally, most HCPs were females (53%), 63% Asian; 87% were born outside of the US, predominantly in East Asia. Providers had a significant increase on knowledge (t (21) =-3.03, p< .01) about prescribing for older adults. Detailed results of the programs will be presented. Despite challenges in diverse audience members, all three target populations indicated a statistically significant change in knowledge indicating the value in targeted and tailored health education topics.