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Medication Management Strategies by Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Multisite Qualitative Analysis
Fatoumata Jallow1, Elisa Stehling1, Zara Sajwani-Merchant1
1From the University of Texas at Arlington, College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arlington.
Older adults managing multiple medications use unique safety strategies, some differing from official guidelines. Understanding these patient-led approaches is crucial for improving medication safety and collaboration.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Pharmacology
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Community-dwelling older adults (65+) on 5+ medications face significant medication-related harm risks.
- Self-management of multiple medications by older adults occurs with limited healthcare supervision.
- Understanding older adults' home medication safety practices and risk mitigation is poorly understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore medication safety strategies used by community-dwelling older adults (65+) on 5+ prescription medications.
- To compare older adults' strategies with existing medication safety guidelines from two government organizations.
Main Methods:
- Conducted semistructured interviews with 28 community-dwelling older adults (65+) taking 5+ prescription medications.
- Analyzed interview data to identify medication management themes.
- Compared identified strategies against medication safety guidelines from two government organizations.
Main Results:
- Four themes of medication management emerged: collaboration with prescribers, collaboration with pharmacists, medication learning, and home-based safe practices.
- Older adults partially followed published guidelines but also employed strategies discordant with recommendations.
- Some self-initiated medication adjustments (e.g., weaning) occurred without provider notification.
Conclusions:
- Older adults utilize distinct medication management strategies compared to official guidelines.
- Respecting and understanding patients' home-based strategies can enhance patient-provider collaboration and outcomes.
- Future medication safety guidelines should incorporate older adults' perspectives and lived experiences.
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