Objective. To evaluate whether the Geriatric Medication Game increases understanding, awareness, and empathy towards geriatric patients and the challenges they encounter in our health care system, especially as those challenges relate to medication use. Design. One hundred two students from the St. Louis College of Pharmacy participated in the game and 96 students completed a pretest and posttest questionnaire that assessed their attitudes and experiences. The players were asked to rate the level of emotions they experienced and their awareness of geriatric needs. Assessment. Students' perceptions changed significantly for the majority of the items assessed. Frustration was the highest emotion experienced (median=4). Over 70% of students stated the game increased empathy and understanding toward patients. Conclusion. The Geriatric Medication Game serves as a resource for increasing pharmacy students' awareness of the perceptions and experiences of geriatric patients.
Introduction: This study explores burden and social and professional support in families of young patients with muscular dystrophies (MDs) in Italy. Methods: The study was carried out on 502 key relatives of 4‐ to 25‐year‐old patients suffering from Duchenne, Becker, or Limb‐Girdle MD who were living with at least 1 adult relative. Results: A total of 77.1% of relatives reported feelings of loss, 74.0% had feelings of sadness, and 59.1% had constraints in leisure activities. Burden was higher among relatives of patients with higher disability and who spent more daily hours in caregiving. Practical difficulties were higher among relatives who perceived lower help in patient emergencies and less practical support by their social network. Psychological burden was higher in those relatives who were unemployed, those with poorer support in emergencies, and those with lower social contacts. Conclusions: Caring for patients with MDs may be demanding for relatives even in the early stages of these disorders, especially when social support is poor and the patient's disability increases. Muscle Nerve
52: 13–21, 2015
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