Conhecimento de pacientes idosos sobre a indicação de medicamentos prescritos

Abstract

Patient adherence is associated to successful pharmacotherapy; however, many patients do not take their medications as prescribed because of poor understanding of their purpose. To understand how to use the medication correctly, patients need to obtain clear guidelines and instructions, as their behavior and characteristics play a fundamental role in the effectiveness of a medication. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate older people’s knowledge of the purpose of drugs prescribed at medical appointments in primary care units and the aspects related to their level of knowledge of their medications. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in 22 basic health units in Brazil. Older adults who were waiting for medical consultations in the study facilities were interviewed after a consultation with a family practice physician. Data were collected from September 2016 to March 2019. Patients who were ≥ 60 years old who visited the primary care units were included in the study (n = 674). Knowledge of prescribed medications was assessed by comparing the responses to the questionnaire and the medication and prescription information. Multivariate analyses were conducted using a Poisson regression with robust variance. Results: The mean age of the sample was 70.1 (standard deviation ± 7.1) years. Among 674 patients, 272 (40.4%) did not know the indication of at least 1 of their prescribed drugs; among them 78 (11.6%) did not know the indication of any of their prescribed drugs. In the final multivariate analysis, polypharmacy, illiteracy, and cognitive impairment were found to be associated with misunderstanding the purpose of at least 1 prescribed drug. Moreover, illiteracy and cognitive impairment were associated with a greater misunderstanding of the purpose of all prescribed drugs. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that there is a considerable lack of knowledge about prescribed medications among older Brazilian adults after a medical appointment. For this reason, health services and professionals need to implement strategies to improve patient’s knowledge