“Here’s an empty inhaler,” Michael Paasche-Orlow said. “Show me how you use it.”
This is one question the Boston University School of Medicine professor said he asked study participants, in an effort to combat problems with “health literacy,” the understanding of medication information.
His study set out to prove that written directions often do not suffice when prescribing asthma medications. Paasche-Orlow said he stressed a “teach-to-goal” method where patients must demonstrate knowledge of their prescription by passing a hands-on test, like properly using their inhaler.
“Health care providers just think talking is enough,” he said. “It is most important to know what to do.”
Paasche-Orlow said what should be simple directions are often written in complex language. While difficult wording causes confusion for many highly educated individuals, he said it leaves “low-literacy” Americans lost on how to administer medication safely.
Someone with “low literacy” is a person who possesses less than a sixth-grade reading level. He said 21 percent of American adults fall into this category.
When dealing with health care, Paasche-Orlow said it is vital to ingest the proper medication correctly. Although the concept may be common knowledge to many doctors, patients can often be left in the dark.
“With medications, if you screw it up, you don’t get the benefits,” he said. “While correct procedures are obvious to health care workers, they are not always obvious to patients.”
Paasche-Orlow said if patients are taught how to take their medication correctly, they will be able to successfully treat themselves. Even “low-literate” patients were proven to have retained their treatment knowledge for two weeks throughout his study.
He said his “confirmed comprehension” tests should be a staple in all hospitals.
“It is important to see that these educational opportunities work for the most vulnerable folks,” Paasche-Orlow said.
Students said doctors should take the time to educate their patients about their prescriptions.
“Hospitals should have doctors personally explain medications,” School of Engineering freshman Emily Chadwick said. “It should be mandatory that doctors tell patients everything about their medication.”
College of Communication freshman Katie Fahrenthold questioned the effectiveness of the information sheets handed out by doctors.
“I don’t think that people read the piece of paper,” she said.
Paasche-Orlow said he is hoping to continue researching “health literacy” related to asthma, but said the information could also be applied to other diseases like diabetes. His focus for future projects is to improve the patients’ retention length from two weeks to several months.
He said he believes that his study is important because the knowledge that he is trying to give to patients gives them more control over their own medical decisions.
“It’s all about empowerment,” he said.
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
