Medication Adherence in Older Adults With Serious Mental Illness

The goal of this pilot study is to learn about how well older people with serious mental illness (including schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, major depression) follow prescribed medication regimens, and to evaluate a manualized intervention designed to enhance medication management skills and adherence, the Using Medications Effectively program. The following four hypotheses will be tested: 1. Medication adherence will be associated with several variables including insight, memory, medication management skill, knowledge about medications, attitudes about medications. 2. People who receive the program will have better medication adherence compared to those who do not receive the program as measured by pill counts. 3. People who receive the program will develop better medication management skills compared to those who do not receive the program.

Individuals who are already participating in a study of a combined skills training and health care management intervention for older people with serious mental illness are invited to join this study. Half of the individuals have already been randomly assigned to receive the intervention and half have already been randomly assigned to continue receiving their usual care. The people receiving the intervention receive the skills training module, Using Medications Effectively, in 8 group sessions over 8 weeks. The module includes information about common medications used for psychiatric and medical illnesses; training on using devices to help take medications properly; and instruction on strategies to help incorporate medication taking into a daily routine. A trained research assistant conducts pill counts and interview sessions with all participants after they sign an informed consent form, 8 weeks later, and 3 months after the second interview.