Medication use by the elderly: analysis of prescribing, dispensing, and use in a medium-sized city in the state of São Paulo

Abstract

Objective: To describe the prescribing, dispensing, use, adhesion, and storage of medicines to and by the elderly. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed in Estratégia Saúde da Família (Family Health Strategy) health centers (ESF), in Marília in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, based on the records of and interviews with 114 individuals seven to ten days after a medical consultation. A descriptive analysis was carried out. Results: The mean number of prescribed drugs was 4.98 per elderly patient. Of the total number of prescribed drugs, 81.5% were supplied by public services, with the nutrient (50%); antilipemic (62.1%); analgesic (30.7%); dermo-protector (66.6%); herbal (40%) and parasite and antifungal (37.5%) classes dispensed the least. A total of 83.8% of the prescribed drugs were used, while the drugs dispensed at the lowest rates were not used by the elderly, except for analgesics. A total of 40.3% of the respondents exhibited low adherence. Most stored their medicines in a suitable place. Conclusion: The prescribing, dispensing, use and storage of medications to and by the elderly can be considered effective, but adherence remains low, requiring new strategies and interventions.

Profile of continuous use drugs prescribed in primary health care and presence in list of essential drugs

“…Regarding sociodemographic characteristics, there was a predominance of those with older age and females, as verified in other studies published in the literature 7,8,20 . These factors may also be related to the prevalence of the use of medications and groups corroborating other studies that bring the same groups, although with different percentages 7,8,20,29 .…”

“…The number of antibiotics prescribed in the current study (0.3%) complied with the recommended value of less than 30% 9 . Thus, when comparing to other studies, the value was below those found by Stefano et al 8 , 21.4% and Berbigier et al 20 , 12.13%. The indicator regarding the prescription of injectable drugs, recommending prescription percentages below 20% 9 , like in present study reached.…”

“…Concerning the prescription indicators, the average of prescribed drugs is higher than that recommended by the WHO, recommended as two medications/prescription 9 . The average of almost five drugs per prescription is due to the analysis including prescriptions of continuous use drugs, similar to national studies 8,20 . In general, prescription indicators are applied in prescriptions dispensed in health units, including both continuous and acute treatments, in the present study, only users registered with continuous use medications were analyzed, and prescriptions for specific treatments are issued separately.…”

“…In Brazil 50.7% of the general population use medications 5 and this percentage rises to 80% among patients with chronic diseases 6 . Some of the most used classes of medications are: cardiovascular system, alimentary tract and metabolism, and nervous system 7,8 .…”

Fatores associados à não adesão à farmacoterapia em pessoas idosas na atenção primária à saúde no Brasil: uma revisão sistemática

“…O estudo transversal foi o único tipo de pesquisa epidemiológica encontrada e não foram todos os autores 10,13,15,16,18 que apresentaram as medidas de associação esperadas para estudos com esse delineamento. Além disso, o estudo 16 conduzido em Marília (SP) se restringiu a análise descritiva dos achados, o que impossibilitou a verificação de qualquer associação, independente da natureza, ao desfecho.…”