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Older adults’ strategies to prevent episodic medication non-adherence: results from a qualitative study

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Abstract

Purpose The purpose of the study was to explore methods and routines used by older adults to remember to take medications.

Methods

The study was conducted using face-to-face interviews with a convenient sample of older people, who take at least one medication for the treatment of a chronic condition. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the collected data.

Results

Participants (10 men and 28 women, mean age: 79.5) described the methods that aid them in remembering to take their medications. The study identified three content categories: incorporation of medication habits into daily schedule and routine, use of medication aids; and assistance and support from family.

Conclusion

Older people have less difficulty taking their medication regularly if it becomes another habit as part of a daily routine. Health-care professionals should promote various methods to support medication management.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Care, Medical University of Warsaw, ul. Banacha 1, 02-097, Warsaw, Poland

    Anna Maria Dworakowska, Adrianna Aniszewska & Małgorzata Kozłowska-Wojciechowska

Authors
  1. Anna Maria Dworakowska
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  2. Adrianna Aniszewska
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  3. Małgorzata Kozłowska-Wojciechowska
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anna Maria Dworakowska.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this article.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Dworakowska, A.M., Aniszewska, A. & Kozłowska-Wojciechowska, M. Older adults’ strategies to prevent episodic medication non-adherence: results from a qualitative study. Eur Geriatr Med 10, 327–330 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41999-018-00156-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41999-018-00156-y

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