The effect of the family-centered educational program on medication management in elderly patients with ischemic heart disease

Introduction: The elderly population is rising in Iran and other countries, and chronic diseases such as heart disease are prevalent among this population. People, especially in chronic diseases, depend on their families, and the family plays an important role in patient compliance with therapeutic and nutritional recommendations, and can be used to improve the quality of education for patients, especially the elderly. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of family-centered educational program on medication management in elderly patients with ischemic heart disease  methods: This experimental study was performed on 84 old patients with ischemic heart disease in 1396. After random sampling, the samples were randomly assigned to control and test groups by blocking. For the test group, the family-centered educational program was presented in the form of three training sessions along with an educational booklet and the control group received the usual training. The research tools were demographic information questionnaire and medication management tool for the elderly (MedMaide). Drug management was measured before intervention and three months later. Chi-square, Fisher exact test, independent t-test and paired T-test were used for data analysis. SPSS software version 16 was used.  Results: Mean and standard deviation of medication management score after intervention in the experimental group was 0.80 ± 1.82 and in the control group was 2.42 ± 3.75, and independent t-test showed a significant difference after the intervention, in test and control group (p = 0.015).  Conclusion:  The family-centered educational program had a positive effect on medication management in elderly patients with ischemic heart disease. Nurses and other members of the treatment team can improve the quality and continuity of cares with the help of patients’ families.