Understanding the Need for Medication Management Education: A Qualitative Analysis.

Abstract

Medication management is a complex task, in which unintentional errors can have serious adverse effects. Occupational therapy practitioners can play a preventive role in this process but currently are limited in their involvement. Therefore, this qualitative study sought to better understand occupational therapy practitioners' current practices in medication management and thereby determine specific ways to increase the occupational therapy practitioner role. Twenty participants were interviewed, and verbatim transcripts were analyzed using the six-step process by Kiger and Varpio (2020). Three major themes emerged: (1) educational needs of occupational therapists, (2) educational needs of the client/caregiver, and (3) practitioner desire for standardization. Some practitioners are adept in their engagement in medication management, but there is a need for more didactic training and increased continuing education on medication management to promote the important role of occupational therapy in medication management.