ICONS IMPROVE OLDER AND YOUNGER ADULTS COMPREHENSION OF MEDICATION INFORMATION

We examined whether timeline icons improved older and younger adults' comprehension of medication information. In Experiment 1, comprehensio n of instructions with the icon (icon/text format) and without the ico n (text-only format) was assessed by questions about information that was (a) implicit in the text but depicted explicitly by the icon (tota l dose in a 24 hour period), (b) stated and depicted in the icon/text condition (medication dose and times), and (c) stated but not depicted by the icon (e.g., side effects). In a separate task, participants al so recalled medication instructions (with or without the icon) after a study period. We found that questions about dose and rime information were answered more quickly and accurately when the icon was present i n the instructions. Notably, icon benefits were greater for informatio n that was implicit rather than stated in the text. This finding sugge sts that icons can improve older and younger adults' comprehension by reducing the need to draw some inferences. The icon also reduced effec tive study time (study time per item recalled). In Experiment 2, icon benefits did not occur for a less integrated version of the timeline i con that, like the text required participants to integrate dose and ti me information in order to identify the total daily dose. The integrat ed version of the icon again improved comprehension, as in Experiment 1, as well as drawing inferences from memory. These findings show that integrated timeline icons improved comprehension primarily by aiding the integration of dose and time information. These findings are discu ssed in terms of a situation model approach to comprehension.