An Education Study on the Medication Compliance of 60 Years and Older Individuals

Abstract

Background: In old age, taking medications in the desired dosage contributes to health and well-being and is therefore an essential component of the effectiveness of treatments and ultimately the desired impact on public health and reduction of health care budgets. However, it is known that medication compliance among older persons is frequently not at the desired level. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the medication compliance after patient education was applied among 60 years of age and over individuals in two healthcare facilities in Ankara, Turkey.

Methods: This study was conducted in two public hospitals between March and July 2019. 315 people aged 60 and over participated in the study. One hundred and sixty-one participants who received regular health services (without medication compliance education) were in Group 1, and 154 participants who received medication compliance education were in Group 2. The education tool was the “teach-back” method. SPSS 23.0 program was used for data entry and analysis. P values less than 0.05 were indicated for statistical significance.

Results: Participants who received education showed a statistically significant improvement in their capacity to understand the long-term benefits of drugs, their side effects, and storage conditions, as well as their knowledge of when the drugs should not be taken and their ability to repeat information about the drugs used (p<0,05).

Conclusion: This study has revealed that medication compliance among older individuals can be increased with appropriate communication and training method like the “teach-back” method in healthcare settings. Time allocated by health workers in this regard has the potential to respond to compliance-related needs. It is recommended that such techniques be integrated into routine health service models.