African Journal for Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance (AJPHERD) Supplement 1:1 (September), 2014, pp. 74-83.
Pharmacist intervention and patients’ knowledge regarding their chronic medication in a private hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa ELMARIE MARAIS, NATALIE SCHELLACK AND JOHANNA C. MEYER University of Limpopo (Medunsa Campus), PO Box 218, Medunsa. 0204, Ga-rankuwa, South Africa. E-mail:
[email protected] Abstract Due to poor patient knowledge of their chronic medication taken at home, numerous problems arise when patients are admitted to hospital. Patients do not always know the names of the medicines they are taking, which strength, what dose and at what dosing interval. The purpose of the study was to determine the impact of a pharmacist intervention (medication counselling and an information leaflet) on patient knowledge regarding their chronic medication in a private hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa. An interventional study was conducted over a period of eight months. Hospitalised adult patients’ medicine literacy levels and medication knowledge of their chronic medication taken for hypertension and dyslipidaemia were evaluated at enrolment (n=151; 45.1% male; 53.6% female). An intervention in the form of verbal counselling supported with a patient information leaflet was implemented by a pharmacist, followed by a re-assessment two days later. The majority of participants (65.6%) suffered from hypertension, 15.9% had dyslipidaemia and 18.5% suffered from both conditions. A statistically significant overall improvement in patient knowledge of 14.6% (95% CI: 12.3 to 16.9) (p
