Dispensing guides for medicines provided by the Brazilian Unified Health System in Alzheimer’s disease: development and content validation

Abstract

Objective: To develop and validate the content of dispensing guides for medications provided by the Brazilian Unified Health System for the treatment of people with Alzheimer’s disease. Methods: A methodological study conducted in four stages: bibliographic and documentary review, development of the guides, content validation by experts, and updating of the instruments in accordance with the current Clinical Protocol and Therapeutic Guidelines, followed by final verification by the experts. Results: The four guides were organized into the following sections: Initial Assessment, Counseling and Care Plan, and Post-Dispensing and Outcome Assessment. All evaluated criteria achieved satisfactory content validity, with mean values by criterion ranging from 0.96 to 1.00 and a global Content Validity Index of 0.99. Conclusion: Four dispensing guides with high content validity were developed. The instruments may support the systematization of medication dispensing for Alzheimer’s disease, although their usability, applicability, and effects in practice still need to be evaluated in pharmaceutical services.