Investigation of rational drug use behaviors and knowledge levels of older individuals: a cross-sectional study

Bakimli, İpek; Tuğrul, Emel

doi:10.1590/1806-9282.20230692

Acessibilidade / Reportar erro

Brasil

Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira

Español English

Brasil

Español English

sumário « anterior atual seguinte »

Sumário

Original Article • Rev. Assoc. Med. Bras. 70 (1) • 2024 • https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9282.20230692 copy

Investigation of rational drug use behaviors and knowledge levels of older individuals: a cross-sectional study

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

SUMMARY

OBJECTIVE:

The aim of this study was to examine older individuals’ rational drug use behavior, their knowledge of rational drug use, and the factors affecting it.

METHODS:

This study was conducted cross-sectionally with 440 patients aged 65 years who received inpatient treatment in internal medicine and surgery clinics between October 2021 and November 2022 using a Rational Drug Use Scale and rational drug use behavior questions.

RESULTS:

The findings showed that the mean age of older adults was 72.56±5.84 years, and 51.8% were men. It was determined that 79.1% of the older adults did not check their expiration date before using the medicines, and 85.9% of them retained the remaining medicines after treatment. Results indicated that 77.3% of older adults knew less about rational drug use. Additionally, a significant difference was observed between older adults’ marital status, educational status, possession of outdated drugs at home, self-use of antibiotics without examination, and mean score on the Rational Drug Use Scale (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION:

The results showed that the rational drug use knowledge level of older adults was low and that there were differences in the knowledge levels of rational drug use according to certain behaviors and factors.

KEYWORDS:
Rational drug; Older adults; Behavior

Behaviors		n	%
Using the drug recommended by a neighbor or a relative
	Yes	32	7.3
	No	408	92.7
Persons who received information on how to use regularly used drugs
	Physician	366	83.2
	Pharmacist	74	16.8
	Nurse	0	0
Getting information about the side effects of the drugs used
	Yes	5	1.1
	No	435	98.9
Reading the leaflet before using the medicines
	Yes	47	10.7
	No	393	89.3
Status of remaining drugs after treatment
	Save it in case you need it again	378	85.9
	Giving to those who need it	8	1.8
	Castaway	38	8.6
	Other	2	0.5
	Take to pharmacy	14	3.2
Paying attention to the storage conditions of medicines at home
	Yes	395	89.8
	No	45	10.2
Storing medicines in their own box
	Yes	409	93.0
	No	31	7.0
The medicine storage place at home
	A special drawer	251	57.0
	A special locker	71	16.1
	Medicine cabinet	14	3.2
	Freezer	92	20.9
	Other	12	2.7
Buying medicine from the pharmacy without a physician's examination
	Yes	101	23.0
	No	339	77.0
Experiencing side effects of any drug used
	Yes	32	7.3
	No	408	92.7
What to do in case of side effects (n=32)
	Contacting a physician	30	93.75
	Contacting a pharmacist	2	6.25
Taking the medication with television or media promotion without consulting a physician
	Yes	3	0.7
	No	437	99.3

Scale		mean±SD	Median (QS)	min–max
RDUS		32.52±2.93	32.00 (3.00)	21.00–41.00
			n	%
RDU level of knowledge
	Low level of knowledge (≤34 points)		340	77.3
	High level of knowledge (>35 points)		100	22.7

Variables		n	mean±SD	Median (QS)	Statistics
Marital status
	Married	333	32.78±2.67	33.00 (3.00)	z: −2.573
	Single	107	31.69±3.51	32.00 (4.00)	p: 0.010^* * p<0.05
Educational levels
	Illiterate (a)	18	29.22±3.81	28.50 (3.75)
	Literate (b)	21	30.09±4.14	32.00 (6.50)	x²: 26.823
	Primary school (c)	238	32.68±2.59	33.00 (3.00)	p: 0.000^* * p<0.05
	Middle school (d)	136	32.91±2.54	33.00 (3.75)	a<c=d=e**
	High school/university (e)	27	33.22±3.75	33.00 (6.00)
Remembering the time and dose while using the drug
	Yes	396	32.70±2.66	33.00 (3.00)	z: −2.328
	No	44	30.90±4.46	32.00 (7.75)	p: 0.020^* * p<0.05
Checking the expiration date before using medication
	Yes	92	33.46±3.55	33.00(4.00)	z: −2.932
	No	348	32.27±2.70	32.00(3.00)	p: 0.003^* * p<0.05
Presence of expired medication in the home
	Yes (a)	12	33.91±3.20	33.00(4.75)	x²: 9.433
	No (b)	104	33.26±3.40	33.00(4.00)	p: 0.009^* * p<0.05
	I don't know (c)	324	32.23±2.71	32.00(3.00)	b>c^* ***** p-value obtained as a result of Bonferroni correction p<0.0167, QS: quadrants span; SD: standard deviation; z: Mann-Whitney U test; x2: Kruskal-Wallis test.
Using antibiotics without examination
	Yes	10	28.50±2.95	28.00(4.50)	z: −3.804
	No	430	32.61±2.87	33.00(3.00)	p: 0.000^* * p<0.05

Associação Médica Brasileira R. São Carlos do Pinhal, 324, 01333-903 São Paulo SP - Brazil, Tel: +55 11 3178-6800, Fax: +55 11 3178-6816 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: ramb@amb.org.br

Acompanhe os números deste periódico no seu leitor de RSS

[1] *Corresponding author: bakimliipek@gmail.com