Managing Multiple Medications and Their Packaging for Older People in Home Care Nursing: An Interview Study

Abstract

Home care nurses assist older people in their daily living and well-being, including medication management. Medication management can be challenging for older people with functional constraints and several chronic conditions. This paper presents how home care nurses manage medications and their packaging for older people at their homes. This study followed an explorative qualitative research design, in which semi-structured interviews were conducted with home care nurses in Sweden (n = 14). The study revealed that home care nurses need to coordinate a multitude of interrelated tasks, with documentation being paramount. Regarding medication management, automated systems were preferred, as they reduce medication errors and facilitate dispensing of medications for each patient when compared with analogue systems still in use (i.e., dosing boxes), commonly used by older people. Importantly, the lack of a common journal system for updates on prescribed medication among health care providers and analogue communication still in place creates space for outdated prescription of medications for patients. There are opportunities for further investigation on how technology can help home care nurses in coordinating medication management tasks with other health care providers, and on receiving updates about medication intake by older patients when the nurse is not at their homes.

Effect of robot for medication management on home care professionals’ use of working time in older people’s home care: a non-randomized controlled clinical trial

“…Most medication errors typically occur during the medication administration stage. Wrong medication, wrong dose, and wrong timing are the usual types of errors in home care that endanger patient safety [ 6 , 7 ]. Therefore, using a robot for medication management supports older people’s independent living in their homes and enables the safety of medication management in collaboration with older home care clients, their relatives and home care professionals.…”

“…The team included a senior lecturer in nursing with medication management competence, a head of older people’s home care, and a home care professional working in older people’s home care. The content of the Time Tracking Form was based on previous literature about medication management in home care [ 6 , 7 ]. The research protocol was planned by the authors before the study; it can be accessed from the corresponding authors on a reasonable request.…”

“…In home care, medication management is a process referring to the ordering, dispensing, reconstitution, administration, and monitoring of the effects of medications and medication education [ 6 , 7 ]. Home care professionals take care of medication management by ordering medications from a pharmacy.…”

The Experiences of Home Care Nurses in Regard to the Care of Vulnerable Populations: A Qualitative Study

“…In addition, the figure of a coordinator who leads the care that patients and family members should receive is essential [ 14 ]. They also point out that another variable that has made home care difficult is the shortage of home care nurses and the excessive bureaucratic tasks of nursing professionals, together with the insecurity caused by home care [ 29 , 30 ].…”

Functional and Psychosocial Profile of Older People Living in Nursing Homes: Findings from the European Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE)

“…Moreover, older residents with multimorbidity and with hyper-polypharmacy have, respectively, a 35% and a 29% increased risk of mortality when compared to those not experiencing these conditions [92]. These older people need appropriate healthcare services, and nursing homes, however, representing a possible care solution in their daily living [93,94]. In particular, older people may need particular support for multiple drugs management and dosing at the right time, especially when their functional and cognitive capabilities are low, since drugs are difficult to be taken by seniors at home, with a great possibility of errors [95], especially when they live alone, with an older partner and/or without family and SN support.…”