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. 2024 Mar 27;24:285. doi: 10.1186/s12877-024-04893-7

Table 2.

Tool properties

Tools Purpose Number of Items Scoring scale Administration time Type of instrument Type of Medication regimen used Medication management skill assessed Psychometric properties -Study Validity Reliability
Content Construct Inter-rater Test-retest Internal consistency
Physical + Cognition + Sensory + Motivation
ManageMed Screening (MMS) [59] To quickly determine if someone can handle a moderately difficult medication routine 33 item 0-39 15-20 minutes Performance-based Simulated medication regimen Read Rx label, recall information, open/close vials, perform calculations, organize pillbox [59] +

Neurocognitive function (Cognistat)

(Pearson Correlation Coefficient of .696)

(0.86-

0.96)

0.89
Self-Medication Risk Assessment Tool (RAT) [34] To assess elderly patients' needs for additional support in managing their medicines 13 item 0-26 5-20 minutes Performance-based Simulated and patient’s medication regimens Read Rx labels, open different medication packaging, manipulate with 5 ml spoon and eye or ear drop bottles [67] +

Patient’s

comprehension and

dexterity of

handling the

medications

(≥0.79)
Cognitive Screen for Medication Self-Management (CSMS) [30] To assess the sensory and cognitive constructs associated with medication adherence 8 item 15 NR Performance-based Simulated medication regimen

Bottle opening, label reading, clock reading, dose

calculations, arrangement time, study time, immediate recall, delayed, recall, cued

recall, prospective memory and dose planning

[30] + Cognitive status and age -0.08-0.84
Physical + Cognition + Sensory + Environmental
Medication Management Ability Assessment (MMAA) [48, 56] To assess geriatric mental health patients’ ability to independently manage medications 4 item 0-25 45-60 minutes Performance-based Simulated medication regimen

Recall information, describe full regimen,

open/close, remove the dose from vials,

differentiate tablet by color

[68] +

Cognitive function

(neuropsychological

l battery test)

Adherence

0.96
Self-Medication Assessment Tool (SMAT) [22, 29, 61] To screen for medication self-management deficits in older adults and to facilitate targeted interventions 44 item Multiple scale 45-60 minutes Performance-based Patient's own medication regimen Simulated medication regimen

Read Rx labels, recall information, interpret medication instructions, open vials, remove tablets form packaging,

differentiate tablets by color, organize pillbox

[69] + Cognitive function (MMSE, CDT, CCT), Medication regimen complexity, Self-reported adherence +(≥0.79) +(≥0.83) +(≥0.81)
Physical + Cognition + Motivation + Environmental
HOME-Rx revised [20] To assess ability to manage medication routines in context, identify risk factors for medication management problems, and identify the environmental barriers influencing medication management ability 4 subscales Multiple scale 25 to 35 minutes Performance-based Patient's own medication regimen

Knowledge of medications,

Recall information, maniple of medication bottles

and/or syringe, and calculate

medication doses,

storing and

retrieving pills; reading labels; verbalizing the dosage instructions, special instructions, and purpose; following dosing

directions correctly and recognizing when one has missed doses; opening containers; setting up medications; taking

out medications; and physically administering medications.

[20] +

PASS (positively correlated with the

HOME–Rx Performance subscale (r = .57, p < .001) and Safety

subscale (r = .49, p < .001))

MedMaIDE (negatively

correlated with the HOME–Rx Performance subscale (r = −.69,

p < .001) and positively correlated with the

HOME–Rx Barriers subscale (r = .70, p < .001)) , I–HOPE Assist

.87 to 1.00
Medication Management Instrument for Deficiencies in the Elderly (MedMaIDE) [20, 35] To identify the deficiencies in older adults’ ability to take their medication at home. 20 item 0-13 30 minutes Performance-based Patient's own medication regimen Medication knowledge (name all drugs and describe full regimen including indication, rout of administration, dose and time), Medication taking ability (filling a glass of water, sip enough water, open bottles/vials, remove dose from package, and demonstrate admiration method for oral and non-oral dosage form),Knowledge about ongoing supplies (identify existing refills, name of pharmacy or physician office, and available resources) [70] +

Cognitive function

(MMSE)

Functional status

(ADL)

Med. adherence

(pill count)

0.74 0.93 0.71
Physical + Cognition+ Motivation
Show Back [66] To assess older adult medication self-management proficiency 5 item 0-100 22 minutes Performance-based Simulated medication regimen Identify medications, explaining the indication, organizing pillbox, describing the administration process for injectables and inhaled medications, describing the timing of doses [66] + Medication Discrepancy Tool (MDT) 0.83-1
MedTake test [53]

To quantify seniors’ ability to take oral

drugs safely, standardize the brown bag

review

4 item 0-100 30-45 minutes Performance-based Patient's own medication regimen

Identify meds & recall med names, open

bottles/vials & remove dose from package, state

indication, food/water congestion, and timing

[53] +

Cognitive function

(MMSE)

Educational level

HOME-Rx [48] To assess an older adult’s ability to manage medication routines in the home and to identify at-risk behaviors by home health occupational therapists 16 item 1-16 30-45 minutes Performance-based Patient's own medication regimen Knowledge of medications, recall information, maniple of medication bottles and/or syringe, and calculate medication doses [48] +

Cognitive function

(MoCA)

MMC (MangeMed)

.87 to 1.00
Hopkins Medication Schedule (HMS) [58, 59] To test older adults’ ability to understand and implement a routine prescription medication 2 item 0-11 15-30 minutes Performance-based Simulated medication regimen

Read Rx labels, comprehend medication

regimen, plan a schedule for meds regimen,

open & close vails, remove dose from vials,

organize pillbox.

[71] +

Cognitive function

(MMSE)

Functional status

(IADL)

0.38
Cognition + Sensory + Motivation
Performance Assessment of Self-care Skills (PASS-IADL) [48] To measure occupational performance of daily life tasks 26 (four domains) NR 1.5-3 hour Performance-based NA NA [72] + 0.29-0.43 0.82-0.97 0.94-0.96
Physical + Cognition
Drug Regimen Unassisted Grading Scale (DRUGS) [15, 29, 49, 59] To assess Medication self-management ability 4 item 0-100 5-15 minutes Performance-based Patient's own medication regimen

Identification: showing the appropriate

medications, access: opening the appropriate containers,

dosage: dispensing the correct number per dose, and

timing: demonstrating the appropriate timing of doses

[73] +

Cognitive function

(MMSE)

Functional status

(ADL & IADL)

Self‐reported MMC

Health literacy

0.83 0.81
Cognition + Motivational
Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (S-TOFHLA) [41] To measure patients’ ability to read and understand the things they commonly encounter in the health care setting using actual materials like pill bottles and appointment slips 4 Numeracy items and 2 prose passages 0-100 12 minutes Performance-based Patient's own medication regimen [74] + REALM 0.68-0.97
Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA-R) [45, 46, 65] To measure the functional health literacy of patients. 50-item reading comprehension and 17-item numerical ability test 0-50 22 minutes Performance-based Patient's own medication regimen Reading comprehension and numeracy [75] +

REALM

WRAT-R

0.92 0.98
Comprehensive Health Activities Scale (CHAS) [45, 46] To measure health literacy skills 45 item 0-100 60 minutes Performance-based Simulated medication regimen organizing and dosing medication [76] + TOFHLA and the NVS, REALM and the MMSE > 0.80

Functional, communicative and critical health literacy scales

(FCCHL) [62]

Three newly developed scales for measuring functional, communicative, and critical HL among patients with type 2 diabetes in order to propose a measure of HL 14 item 4-point Likert scale ranging from ‘‘never’’ (1) to ‘‘often’’ (4) NR Self-reported Patient's own medication regimen NR [77] + 0.67-0.72 0.87
Motivation + Environmental
Long-Term Medication Behavior Self-Efficacy Scale (LTMBSES) [14]

To measures self-efficacy in relation to

medication compliance

22 item Multiple scales NR Self reported NA NA [78] + Various levels of adherence 0.88
Self-efficacy for Appropriate Medication Use Scale (SEAMS) [15, 38, 42, 44, 54] To assess self-efficacy for appropriate medication use 21 item 21-63 5-10 minutes Self-reported Patient's own medication regimen NR [15, 38, 42, 44, 54] +

REALM

Various disease

Various literacy levels

0.62 0.90
Cognition
Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) [31, 36, 39, 47, 49, 51, 53, 64] To check for cognitive impairment (problems with thinking, communication, understanding and memory) 11 item 0-30 10 minutes Performance-based NA Cognitive ability to manage medications [79] +

Mattis Dementia Rating Scale

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test,

Functional Independence Measure, Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale .

Zung Depression Scale.

0.69 0.96 0.96
Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) [31] To assess abstract reasoning ability and the ability to shift cognitive strategies in response to changing environ-mental contingencies and also considered a measure of the executive functions. 14 item 12–20 minutes Performance-based NA Cognitive ability to manage medications [80] + 0.93
Digit Span Backward (DSB) [31] To assess working memory 8 item 0-16 Less than 5 minutes Performance-based NA Cognitive ability to manage medications [81] + Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale 0.76-0.95
California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) [31] To assesses encoding, recall and recognition 16 item 30 minutes Performance-based NA NA [82] + 0.80–0.84
Mini-Cog [33, 40] To evaluate cognition in older adults 4 item 0-5 3 minutes Performance-based Pillbox Read Rx labels, interpret medication instructions, organize pillbox [83] + Abbreviated mental test score (AMTS), the Geriatric Depression Scale 0.76 0.86 0.83
Medi-Cog [33, 40] To assess patients’ ability to fill their own prescribed medications into a pillbox 3 item 0-10 7-8 minutes Performance-based Pillbox Read Rx labels, interpret medication instructions, organize pillbox [84] +

Cognitive function

Correctly filled

pills

Medication-Transfer Screen (MTS) [33, 40] To assess patients’ ability to fill their own prescribed medications into a pillbox 4 item 5 5 minutes Performance-based Pillbox Read Rx labels, interpret medication instructions, organize pillbox [84] + Cognitive function Correctly filled pills
Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) [37, 65] It assesses different cognitive domains: attention and concentration, executive functions, memory, language, visuoconstructional skills, conceptual thinking, calculations, and orientation 30 item 0-30 10 minutes Performance-based NA NA [85] Age, educational levels, economic status, and sex, MMSE 0.92 0.82
Short Blessed Test (SBT) [37]

This test addresses cognitive concerns in the areas of orientation, memory, and

concentration.

6 item 0 – 28 5-10 minutes Performance-based NA NA [86] MMSE 0.52-0.58
Trail-Making Test (TMT) [24, 37, 51] To assess executive function 25 item

Part A- 1-39 sec

Part B-1-91 sec

5-10 minutes Performance-based NA NA [87] Category Test (CAT), Wisconsin Card Sort Test (WCST), Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT), Visual Search and Attention Test (VSAT). Part A-0.78 Part B- 0.67
Measure of Drug Self Management (MeDS) [52] An assessment of medication self-management skills NR 0-12 NR Self-reported Patient's own medication regimen NR [52] + Morisky Medication Adherence Scale and relevant clinical measures (HbA1c, blood pressure, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol) 0.72
Fuld Object-Memory Evaluation (FOME) [63] To assess memory 10 item 0-10 15 minutes Performance-based NA NA [88] + 0.71 0.84
Sensory

National

Eye Institute Visual Function

Questionnaire -25

(NEI VFQ–25) [43, 50]

To measures the dimensions of self-reported vision-targeted health status that are most important for persons who have chronic eye diseases. 25+1 item 0-100(Multiple scale) 10 minutes Self-reported NA NA [89] +

Various eye disease

51-item NEI VFQ

0.71-0.85
Daily Living Tasks associated with Vision (DLTV) [16]

To assess functional impairment among patients

with age-related macular degeneration (AMD)

24 item 0-100 6-10 minutes Self-reported NA NA [90] + 0.97
Pelli-Robson letter sensitivity chart (PR test) [58] To measures a patient's contrast sensitivity (CS) by finding the lowest contrast letters he/she can read correctly NR NR NR Self-reported NA NA  [91]
Randot Circles [58] To test the patient depth perception along with normal stereo vision. NR NR NR Self-reported NA NA
Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study eye chart (ETDRS) [58] To measure visual acuity 5 letters of equal difficulty on each row, with standardized logarithmic spacing between letters and rows: a total of 14 lines (70 letters) NR NR Performance-based NA NA [91] Accuracy-0.12±0.14 Test -retest variability-0.23±0.17
Whisper test [53] To assess hearing 6 steps

Threshold for hearing

impairment

<50% correct

5 minutes Self-reported NA NA [92]

Sensitivity (%; 95% CI) 100 (96-100) ,)

Specificity (%; 95% CI) 87 (80-92

Motivation
The Newest Vital Sign (NVS) [46, 54, 61] To identify patients at risk for low health literacy. 6 item 0-6 3 minutes Performance-based Patient's own medication regimen

Read Rx labels, interpret medication

instructions

[93] + TOFHLA 0.76
Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM) [32, 35, 38, 45, 46, 55, 60] To assess an adult patient's ability to read common medical words and lay terms for body parts and illnesses 7 item 0-66 2-3 minutes Performance-based NA NA [94] +

Peabody Individual Achievement Test-Revised (PIAT-R)

Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised (WRAT-R),

Slosson Oral Reading Test-Revised (SORT-R)

0.99 0.97
Medication Administration Self-Efficacy Scale (MASES) [65] To identify levels of self-efficacy, self-care, trust, levels of support from the community and organizations, and satisfaction levels related to self-administration of medications 26 item 0-3 NR Self-reported Patient's own medication regimen NA [65] + 0.95
Martin and Park Environmental Demands Questionnaire (MPED) [14]

To measure two dimensions of environmental demand: (1)

busyness and (2) routine

13-item Likert scale 1 through 5. 5-10 minutes Self-reported NA NA [95] +

Age

Household size

Medication-taking errors. (External validity)

0.88 for the busyness scale and 0.74 for the routine scale
Environmental
Medication-Specific Social Support Questionnaire (MSSS) [44] To identify how often participants received help for their medication taking over a three-month period 8 items 0-4 NR Self-reported NA NA [96] + Various diseases, drugs 0.92
Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) [57] To assess an individual’s perception of the social support he or she receives from family, friends and significant others 12 item 7-point Likert type scale 5-10 minutes Self-reported NA NA [97] + 0.91 0.95
Perceived Social Support from Friends (PSS-Fr) and the Perceived Social Support from Family (PSS-Fa) [14]

To measure the

extent to which an individual perceives that his/her needs are fulfilled by friends and

family

20 item 0-20 NR Self-reported NA NA [98] + Various symptoms of distress and psychopathology, mood states 0.88 for PSS-FR and 0.90 for PSS-FA