Mental status and self-medication ability in the hospitalized elderly

This study investigated the relationships among several aspects of cognitiv e functioning and the outcome of self-medication training in hospitalized e lderly patients. Data from 53 geriatric patients who received rehabilitatio n treatment at the SCO Hospital in Ottawa, Canada between 1992 and 1997 wer e collected, on an archival basis. Patients began a graduated self-medicati on program after undergoing a neuropsychological evaluation. Performance sc ores from five different aspects of cognition were regressed on the self-me dication training outcome measures. Findings revealed that aspects of cogni tive functioning were significantly related to the outcome of self-medicati on training. Thus, psychometric measures of cognition can be useful in pred icting which patients are most likely to benefit from a self-medication pro gram, or alternatively, those who would require a modified program to be ab le to learn. The clinical implications of these results are discussed.