Tailor teaching methods to elderly
Consider lighting, need for repetition
Use a variety of teaching methods when educating seniors about their medication, advises Linda Mosel, MSN, RN, CS, geriatric clinical nurse specialist at Good Samaritan Hospital in Dayton, OH. Combine verbal, written, and visual instruction whenever possible. In addition, the teaching style needs to be adapted for seniors, she says.
Following is a list of tips for teaching seniors in order to improve medication compliance:
• Go over one thing at a time.
Slow your pace, covering one thought at a time. "Sometimes we have to break what we are teaching into steps and then go over one step at a time, or they won’t be able to absorb it," explains Mosel.
• Make print materials senior-friendly.
Written materials should be in 14-point fonts and dark print whenever possible. Also, printed materials should never have a blue, green, or violet background, because there is not enough contrast. Handouts should be printed on light-colored, non-glossy paper to eliminate glare.
• Allow for hearing problems.
Because many seniors are hearing-impaired, face the patient when teaching, speak slowly, and don’t put your hand over your mouth.
• Preparing patient for learning.
Before starting an education session, find out whether the patient needs to use the bathroom. It’s good to ask, because the patient might not mention it. Also, ask if the patient is comfortable or in pain. During the teaching session, watch to see if the patient is becoming fatigued.
• Provide direct lighting.
The light should focus on the paper or whatever the elderly patient is looking at so he or she can see well.
To aid you in your education efforts, The National Institute on Aging has a variety of age-appropriate educational materials on its Web site at www.nih.gov/nia/. "They are copyright-free, and free," says Mosel.
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