Assessment centre ⏵ Verbal interview ⏵ Medications
Description
This category contains data obtained through a verbal interview by a trained nurse on prescription medications and includes data on type and number of medications taken.The interviewer was made aware, via a pop-up box on their computer screen, if the participant had answered in the touchscreen that they are taking regular prescription medication, and was then prompted to ask "Could you now tell me what these are?" If the participant indicated in the touchscreen that they were taking any of the following classes of medications: blood pressure lowering, cholesterol lowering, hormone replacement therapy or oral contraceptive pills, then the interviewer was prompted to record the name of the medication. If the participant stated in the touchscreen they were not taking any regular prescription medications (or were not sure), this question was asked again and confirmed by the interviewer.
This category contains data on any regular treatments taken weekly, monthly, etc. It does not include short-term medications (such as a 1 week course of antibiotics) or prescribed medication that is not taken, or over-the-counter medications, vitamins and supplements (this information was collected in the touchscreen and was not recorded here, unless for some reason the participant had forgotten to record it in the touchscreen). Doses and formulations were not recorded.
Medicines that could not be coded at the time of the interview were entered as free text, and subsequently coded wherever possible.
