Nursing
Testing of the Self-Administration of Medication (SAM) tool in a rehabilitation setting
Supervisor: Professor Elizabeth Manias
Location: Melbourne School of Health Sciences, Royal Park Campus, Royal Melbourne Hospital
Contact: Professor Elizabeth Manias T: 8344 9463 E: emanias@unimelb.edu.au
Self-administration of medications is the process whereby patients have the responsibility of taking their medications while in hospital rather than the nurse administering these medications. Self-administration practices can help patients to manage their medication regimens at home because they have practiced these routines before they go home. Unfortunately, determining the patients’ ability to self medicate has largely been an intuitive decision without the use of a tested tool. The self-administration of medication (SAM) tool was developed and validated as a means of helping health professionals to identify which patients would be capable of self-medication in hospital. The proposed work will extend previous research by examining the feasibility of introducing the SAM tool into current practice in a rehabilitation ward, by determining the benefits and barriers relating to its use, and by testing the utility and validity of the tool.