| Research Abstract |
The purposes of this study were to investigate factors that influence medication compliance in the elderly, to clarify the characteristics of elderly patients by means of a comparison with the younger patients, consequently, to establish appropriate nursing intervention for medication compliance behaviors among elderly patients.
Subjects were elderly (older than 65 years, n=101) and younger (younger than 64 years, n=105) patients who were receiving drug therapy at outpatient clinic of internal medicine in Oita Medical University Hospital. The direct interview method, based on the framework of the health belief model, was used.
Of all subjects, 10 noncompliance patients participated in clinical trial examination. They were randomized into two groups : nursing intervention group and control group, and contacted by means of the different approach.
Statistical analyzes were performed by t-test, chi-square test, Kruskal-Wallis test, one-way ANOVA or Mann-Whitney U test.
When compared with young
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er patients, even though more elderly patients took greater numbers of drugs more frequently, the medication compliance score was better in elderly patients. The results showed that the length of drug therapy, past experience with adverse drug reactions, patient-physician relationship, anxiety about drug therapy, and patients' judgment about effects of drug therapy were the factors that influence the medication compliance in both elderly and younger patients. However, factors such as sex, the frequency of medication per day, dosage, the number of prescriptions, and knowledge of drugs did not correlate with medication compliance in the both age groups.
The findings of the clinical trial examination found that the nursing intervention with individual care plans was effective in improving patient's compliance behavior for medication.
In conclusion, the present study suggests that the role of medical staff (physicians, nurses, pharmacists) is importan in decreasing patients' anxieties about drug therapy and in making better communication with patients. Less
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