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Effect of Medication Counselling Services on Medication Knowledge among Hospitalized Patients in Nigeria

Abstract

Adequate medication knowledge is essential for safe and effective medication use among hospitalized patients, particularly because patients may receive multiple medicines, undergo changes in their treatment regimens, and transition between different healthcare settings during hospitalization and discharge. Inadequate knowledge of medication names, purposes, dosage, timing, duration, administration methods, possible adverse effects, drug interactions, and precautions may contribute to medication errors, poor adherence, treatment failure, and preventable adverse drug events. Medication counselling services provide patients with individualized information and guidance concerning their prescribed medicines and may improve their understanding and ability to use medications appropriately. However, limited pharmacist involvement, high patient volumes, inadequate counselling time, communication barriers, low health literacy, and inconsistent medication counselling practices may affect the provision of these services in Nigerian hospitals. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of medication counselling services on medication knowledge among hospitalized patients in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on the Health Belief Model, the Theory of Planned Behavior, and the Donabedian Model of Healthcare Quality. The Health Belief Model explains how patients' perceptions of the benefits and risks of medication use, perceived barriers, and cues to action may influence their understanding and use of prescribed medicines. The Theory of Planned Behavior explains how patients' attitudes, perceived social expectations, and perceived behavioural control may influence their intentions and medication-related behaviours. The Donabedian Model explains healthcare quality through structure, process, and outcome, with medication counselling representing an important healthcare process and medication knowledge serving as a measurable outcome. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how medication counselling services may influence medication knowledge among hospitalized patients in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental research design. The study population will comprise adult patients admitted to selected public and private hospitals in Nigeria who are receiving prescribed medications during hospitalization. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select states, local government areas, hospitals, wards, clinical departments, and eligible hospitalized patients. Medication counselling services will be assessed using indicators such as availability of pharmacist-led counselling, counselling frequency, timing of counselling, duration of counselling, individualized medication education, explanation of medication names and purposes, dosage and administration instructions, medication schedules, treatment duration, possible adverse effects, drug interactions, precautions, storage instructions, missed-dose guidance, discharge medication counselling, use of written medication information, and opportunities for patients to ask questions. Medication knowledge will be assessed using indicators such as patients' ability to correctly identify their medications, medication indications, dosage, frequency, administration route, duration of treatment, potential adverse effects, precautions, drug interactions, storage requirements, and appropriate actions when a dose is missed. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, validated medication-knowledge assessment tools, medication charts, prescription records, pharmacist counselling documentation, patient medical records, and direct assessment before and after counselling where appropriate. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize patients' demographic and clinical characteristics, medication profiles, counselling exposure, and medication knowledge levels. Inferential statistical techniques, including paired-sample tests, chi-square tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the effect of medication counselling services on medication knowledge. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that medication counselling services have a significant positive effect on medication knowledge among hospitalized patients in Nigeria. Patients who receive structured and individualized medication counselling are expected to demonstrate better understanding of their medicines, including medication names, purposes, dosage, administration schedules, treatment duration, possible adverse effects, precautions, and appropriate actions when medication-related problems occur. Pharmacist-led counselling and the use of clear verbal and written information may improve patients' comprehension and allow them to participate more actively in their treatment. Counselling provided before discharge is also expected to improve patients' preparedness to continue medication use after leaving the hospital. However, limited pharmacist availability, inadequate counselling time, language barriers, low health literacy, high patient workload, poor documentation, and inconsistent counselling practices may reduce the effectiveness of medication counselling services. The study therefore expects accessible, patient-centred, individualized, and adequately structured medication counselling services to contribute significantly to improved medication knowledge among hospitalized patients in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on medication counselling services, medication knowledge, pharmaceutical care, medication safety, patient education, medication adherence, hospital pharmacy services, patient-centred care, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, state ministries of health, hospital management boards, pharmacists, physicians, nurses, healthcare administrators, professional regulatory bodies, and policymakers regarding strategies for strengthening medication education and pharmaceutical care. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating routine medication counselling into inpatient care, increasing pharmacist participation in patient education, developing standardized counselling protocols, providing culturally and linguistically appropriate medication information, strengthening discharge medication counselling, improving documentation and follow-up, and incorporating medication knowledge assessment into hospital medication-safety and quality-improvement programmes across Nigeria.

Keywords: Medication counselling services, medication knowledge, hospitalized patients, pharmaceutical care, medication safety, patient education, medication adherence, hospital pharmacy services, patient-centred care, Nigeria, public health.