The present study examines the usefulness of a newly developed instrument, the Martin and Park Environmental Demands (MPED) Questionnaire, to measure the level of self-reported environmental demands of day-to-day events faced by adults aged 35 to 84 years, particularly as these demands influence forgetfulness in taking medications.
The MPED has two scales including Busyness, which addresses the density or pace of daily events to which an individual attends; and Routine, addressing the predictability or routinization of events independent of density. The MPED was administered to a sample of 121 rheumatoid arthritis patients, along with a baseline assessment battery measuring age, education, employment status, household size and other factors that might influence self-perception of Busyness and Routine.
The scale showed good internal consistency and external validity. Higher levels of environmental demand were negatively correlated with age and positively correlated with employment, household size and medication-taking errors. There was a significant independent association between Busyness and adherence errors even after controlling for the effects of these sociodemographic variables.
The MPED is recommended when trying to assess the general daily level of environmental demands.