The status of medication use and medication misuse in the low-income senior citizens.

This is a descriptive study to provide basic data to develop the program for medication use management that is based on characteristics of the elderly. This study was done on 165 subjects of age 65 or older living in rental apartments which is located in two cities in Kyonggi province. The study consisted of subjects who were low income class residing in those cities, and the data were collected during the three week period of March 28, 2008 to April 18, 2008 through individual interview with questionnaire. The tools used for this study consisted of 10 general questions, 6 medication use aspects, and 7 medication misuse status. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS 12.0 statistics program to real numbers, percentages, averages, standard deviations, t-test, ANOVA, Multiple Regression tests and the result of the analysis is followed. 1. The average age of this survey was 78.2±6.1 years old, and more than three-fourths of the subjects were female (81.2%). The percentage of the elderly who lived alone was 53.3%, and 64.2% of the subjects responded that they have had 3.8 diseases on the average, and about three-fourths of subjects(72.7%) reported that they visited hospitals regularly for past 6 months. 2. The prescription medications that the subjects used were 5.6 on the average. The most frequently used prescription medications were anti-arthritics and gastrointestinal medications(60.5%), which was followed by anti-hypertension medications(58.5%), cardiac medications(34.0%), anti-diabetic medications (17.0%), and asthmatic medications (15.6%) respectively. 3. The number of nonprescription medications taken by subjects was one kind, which occupied the largest percentage(74.5%). The most frequently used non-prescription medications were analgesics (29.6%), which was followed by drink medications(22.5%),vitamins & oriental medicines(21.1%), digestive medications(11.3%), topical agents (9.9%), and cold medicines(8.5%). 4. The vast majority of subjects reported that they did not get information related to usage of medications from doctors, nurses, or pharmacists (85.8%), and 15.5% of the subjects reported that they suffered side effects from medications. As medications caused side effects, arthritics occupied the highest percentage(50.0%), which was followed by anti-diabetics and hypnotic(12.5%), gastrointestinal and asthmatic medications(8.3%), anti-hypertensive medications(8.3%). Furthermore, as for side effects of those medications taken by subjects, there were digestive problems(58.3%), dizziness(20.8%), dyspepsia and hypoglycemia(12.5%), and nausea and vomiting(8.3%). 5. For medication misuse traits, non-implement of medication time accounted for the highest percentage (37.4%), which was followed by the use of small amount of medications(32.9%), medication stop by themselves(31%), overdose medication use(26.5%), leaving medications by their judgment(17.4%), medication use with alcohol(12.9%), and another person’s medication use(9.7%). 6. In the frequency of medication misuse according to the general traits, there were relatively differences according to hospital use for past six months(F=5.278, p<.006), the number of doctors who ordered medications (F=3.271, p<.023), drinking (t=-2.253, p<.026). In the frequency of medication misuse according to the traits of medication usage, there were relatively differences according to the number of non-prescribed medications(F=9.132, p<.001), the experiences of side effects(t=-4.563, p<.001), the way to use medications and decisive factors of amount of medication use(F=3.876, p<.010). 7. As factors influenced on medication misuse, there were patterns of hospital use, alcohol, the number of non-prescribed medications, and experiences of side effects, and the variable was 28.6%. As a result, the elderly in the low income class used various amounts of medications and many different kinds of medications for their various health problems, and the degree of medication misuse were high. Therefore, this survey might be taken advantage of basic data to develop the education program for the elderly in the low income class.

Author dc:creator

• 김, 수정

Contributors dc:contributor

• 송, 미숙
• 대학원 간호학과
• 200624290

• 저소득층 노인
• 약물사용
• 약물오용

Language dc:language

ko

Identifier

http://dcoll.ajou.ac.kr:9080/dcollection/jsp/common/DcLoOrgPer.jsp?sItemId=000000009240
000000009240

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.ajou.ac.kr:201003/957