An investigation into the practice of self administration of medication in inpatient rehabilitation

This article reports on a study that sought to bring the self-administration of medications (SAM) into focus by determining the extent to which patients within an inpatient rehabilitation setting participated in SAM programs and by identifying the barriers to implementing SAM programs. The project consisted of two stages: an audit of patient medical records, and focus groups with registered nurses working in four rehabilitation units. The audit revealed that only a small percentage of patients participated in the SAM program. The focus groups identified three types of barriers to patient participation in SAM, namely patients' impairments, personal factors within patients and environmental factors.