Morrow Daniel, Raquel Liza, Schriver Angela, Redenbo Seth, Rozovski David, Weiss Gillian
Institute of Aviation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 405 North Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
J Exp Psychol Appl. 2008 Sep;14(3):288-97. doi: 10.1037/a0012809.
Taking medication requires developing plans to accomplish the activity. This planning challenges older adults because of age-related cognitive limits and inadequate collaboration with health providers. The authors investigated whether an external aid (medtable) supports collaborative planning in the context of a simulated patient/provider task in which pairs of older adults worked together to create medication schedules. Experiment 1 compared pairs who used the medtable, blank paper (unstructured aid), or no aid to create schedules varying in complexity of medication constraints (number of medications and medication co-occurrence restrictions) and patient constraints (available times during the day to take medication). Both aids increased problem-solving accuracy and efficiency (time per unit accuracy) compared to the no-aid condition, primarily for more complex schedules. However, benefits were similar for the two aids. In Experiment 2, a redesigned medtable increased problem-solving accuracy and efficiency compared to blank paper. Both aids presumably supported problem solving by providing a jointly visible workspace for developing schedules. The medtable may be more effective because it externalizes constraints (relationships between medication and patient information), so that participants can more easily organize information.
