An evaluation of instructional methods in increasing medication knowledge with adults with a psychiatric diagnosis

The purpose of this study was to evaluate different methods of instruction and their effects on increasing the medication knowledge of adults with a psychiatric diagnosis. Thirty-one participants were randomly assigned to one of the three groups based on their target prescribed medication (i.e., Zyprexa, Risperdal, Haldol, & Seroquel). Direct instruction and precision teaching methods of instruction were evaluated along with a self-taught control condition using a three-group between subjects group design. The results indicated that both precision teaching and direct instruction facilitated an increase in the participants\u27 knowledge about their prescribed medication; however, participants in the precision teaching condition demonstrated quicker acquisition of the target information and more durable recall at the follow-up session. The results suggest that precision teaching is a more effective means of instructing and facilitating an increase in medication knowledge with adults with a psychiatric diagnosis in comparison to direct instruction and self-teaching