65 YAŞ VE ÜSTÜ EVDE SAĞLIK HASTALARINDA UYGUNSUZ İLAÇ KULLANIMININ VE GÜNLÜK YAŞAM AKTİVİTELERİNİN DEĞERLENDİRİLMESİ

Abstract

Introduction: This study aims to evaluate potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) use, the association of PIM use, and activities of daily living in 65 years and older home care patients. Method: The study included 322 patients aged 65 and over who applied to Home Care Unit. Consent was obtained from those who agreed to participate in the study. A questionnaire containing demographic data, drug use information, and Katz Daily Living Activities Index was used which was prepared by the researcher in this study. The drugs used by the patients were evaluated according to the 2015 Beers criteria and inappropriate active substances were detected. The data were defined by statistical analyzes such as mean, percentage, standard deviation, and frequency. Chi-squared test and Student's t-test were used in the analysis. The significance level was accepted as p<0.05. Results: The mean age of the patients was 80.2±8.2 years, and 63.4% (n=204) were female. 70.5% (n=227) of the elderly have three or more chronic diseases. The most common diseases were hypertension (56.2%), diabetes (30.0%), and heart failure (29.8%). 79.2% (n=255) of the group uses four or more drugs. 83.3% (n=260) of the patients get help to use the drugs. 51.6% (n=166) of the patients were fully dependent on activities of daily living and 3.4% (n=11) were fully independent, the level of dependency increases with age (p<0.05). The PIM rate was 61.5% in patients. PIM use was found to be significantly higher in those with more disease, in those who used more drugs, and in females (p<0.05). No relationship was found between inappropriate medication use and addiction level. Conclusion: In this study, it was found that more than half of home care patients aged 65 and over had inappropriate drug use. It was determined that inappropriate medication use increased with polypharmacy, and polymorbidity, and there was no correlation between addiction levels.