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Comparison of nurses and general caregivers’ knowledge, attitude, and practice on medication administration process and their distress level in long-term care facilities across Penang, Kuala Lumpur, and Selangor of Malaysia

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Abstract

Aim

Comparing nurses and general caregivers’ knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) on medication administration process in long-term care (LTC) setting and an assessment of their stress, anxiety, and depression (SAD) level.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among nurses and general caregivers working in LTC using a validated questionnaire. Consisting of demographic characteristics (Section 1); 40 questions on KAP (Section 2); and assessment of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) (Section 3).

Results

155 formally paid staffs in 26 LTC facilities were recruited. Nurses scored significantly higher in the knowledge section compared to caregivers (12.4 ± 1.7 vs. 4.5 ± 3.8; P < 0.001); better attitude (41.5 ± 4.8 vs. 30.8 ± 7.3; P < 0.001); and better practice (65.2 ± 8.5 vs. 40.3 ± 10.9; P < 0.001), respectively. SAD scores reveal that caregivers had significantly higher level of stress, anxiety, and depression compared to the nurses.

Discussion

General caregivers exhibit poorer knowledge on aspects pertaining to posology, appropriate methods of drug administration, and side effects of common drugs used by the elderly. Compared to nurses, the general caregivers also reported poorer medication administration practices; including not checking labels and expiry dates prior to administration, and not providing basic information about medication therapy to the residents. However, both nurses and general caregivers reported positive attitudes in their role as caregivers. They take pride and satisfaction in their occupation providing support to the elderly.

Conclusion

General caregivers demonstrated lesser knowledge, poorer attitude, and practices towards medication administration processes, in addition to higher SAD score in LTC facilities.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all individuals involved in this study and C Lucie from the National Poison Centre for her assistance in editing this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Discipline of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Penang, Malaysia

    Balamurugan Tangiisuran, Sok Cin Tye & May Yen Leow

  2. WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Information, National Poison Centre, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Penang, Malaysia

    Rahmat Awang

Authors
  1. Balamurugan Tangiisuran
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  2. Sok Cin Tye
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  3. May Yen Leow
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  4. Rahmat Awang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Balamurugan Tangiisuran.

Ethics declarations

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Funding

This research is not supported by any fund.

Impact statement

This study has shown that general caregivers have poorer knowledge, attitude, and practice on the medication administration process and more stressed compared to nurses. The findings highlight the necessity for caregivers to be trained adequately to provide optimum care for the elderly.

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Tangiisuran, B., Tye, S.C., Leow, M.Y. et al. Comparison of nurses and general caregivers’ knowledge, attitude, and practice on medication administration process and their distress level in long-term care facilities across Penang, Kuala Lumpur, and Selangor of Malaysia. Aging Clin Exp Res 30, 183–191 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-017-0772-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-017-0772-1

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