Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Sep-Oct;34(5):395-401.
doi: 10.1016/j.gerinurse.2013.05.010. Epub 2013 Jun 27.

Everyday memory strategies for medication adherence

Julie Blaskewicz Boron  1 , Wendy A Rogers, Arthur D Fisk
Affiliations

Everyday memory strategies for medication adherence

Julie Blaskewicz Boron et al. Geriatr Nurs. 2013 Sep-Oct.

Abstract

The need to manage chronic diseases and multiple medications increases for many older adults. Older adults are aware of memory declines and incorporate compensatory techniques. Everyday memory strategies used to support medication adherence were investigated. A survey distributed to 2000 households in the Atlanta metropolitan area yielded a 19.9% response rate including 354 older adults, aged 60-80 years. Older adults reported forgetting to take their medications, more so as their activity deviated from normal routines, such as unexpected activities. The majority of older adults endorsed at least two compensatory strategies, which they perceived to be more helpful in normal routines. Compensatory strategies were associated with higher education, more medications, having concern, and self-efficacy to take medications. As memory changes, older adults rely on multiple cues, and perceive reliance on multiple cues to be helpful. These data have implications for the design and successful implementation of medication reminder systems and interventions.

Keywords: Compensation; Compliance; Mnemonics; Optimization.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Percentage of respondents reporting forgetting of medications in different contexts during the past month or past year.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Einstein GO, McDaniel MA, Smith RE, et al. Habitual prospective memory and aging: Remembering intentions and forgetting actions. Psychol Science. 1998;9:284–288.
    1. Kliegel M, Mackinlay R, Jäger T. Complex prospective memory: Development across the lifespan and the role of task interruption. Dev Psyc. 2008;44:612–617. - PubMed
    1. Zeintl M, Kliegel M, Hofer SM. The role of processing resources in age-related prospective and retrospective memory within old age. Psyc Aging. 2007;22:826–834. - PubMed
    1. Smith AD, Park DC, Earles JLK, et al. Age differences in context integration in memory. Psyc Aging. 1998;3:21–28. - PubMed
    1. Kliegel M, Martin M, McDaniel MA, et al. Realizing complex delayed intentions in young and old adults: The role of planning aids. Mem Cog. 2007;35:1735–1746. - PubMed

Publication types