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Medication adherence is a vital part of treatment for every person. However, geriatric patients’ failure to follow the prescribed therapy plan can lead to serious health-related outcomes. As older individuals’ bodies respond to medications in a more sensitive way than younger ones, their nonadherence can also result in negative effects of withdrawal (Resnick, 2016). One of my past clinical experiences involved an 85-year-old patient with hypertension. Her low level of adherence can be linked to other age-related factors.
Medication Adherence Issues
The discussed patient came in for a routine exam, during which her blood pressure was established to be much higher than a month ago. She had been prescribed a drug for hypertension, but she stated that she had not been taking it for weeks. Her particular issue was that she could not open the bottle because of pain in her hands – she was physically unable to adhere to the plan and did not want to ask anybody for help. The problem of physical limitations and frailty are common in geriatric patients, whose strength may decrease with age or as a result of musculoskeletal illnesses (Blocker, Insel, Koerner, & Rogers, 2017). Some reasons may include memory problems, depression, low level of self-care, lack of health literacy, and negative beliefs about medication (Yap, Thirumoorthy, & Kwan, 2016). It should be noted that many other factors that increase nonadherence exist.
Implications
The failure to take medications on time can significantly affect patients’ health. First of all, drug therapy is developed to help patients recover from certain illnesses or keep their condition stable. Therefore, people take medicine for hypertension to lower their blood pressure to a normal range. Moreover, drug treatments often impact the health of individuals in the future. For example, in this case, blood pressure drugs can prevent the onset and progression of such conditions as heart disease or stroke which are among the primary causes of death in the US (Blocker et al., 2017). Other medications have similar effects, not only treating directly related health issues but also lowering the possibility of comorbidities and complications. Geriatric patients often need to take multiple medications every day, which further exacerbates the importance of adhering to the developed drug therapy plan (Holroyd-Leduc & Reddy, 2012). One untreated issue can greatly affect others and create new problems for the patient.
Strategies
The difficulties that geriatric patients encounter should be managed with the help of education, empathy, and collaboration. In the discussed situation, the patient’s family is contacted to provide support. The patient’s son is asked to purchase a special container for pills that is easy to open – the son should regularly fill the box with medicines for each day of the week. As a result, the patient will have an easy way to access medications. It is also vital to let patients know how important medicines are for their health to overcome the negative stigma and perceptions about drugs (Yap et al., 2016). If they have difficulty remembering their prescriptions, some visual aids and alerts should be created to establish a regular schedule that can be accessed by patients and their relatives.
Conclusion
Medication adherence is essential to healthcare processes because it assures that the person takes steps toward recovery or healthy living. For geriatric patients, nonadherence can lead to adverse health outcomes, new complications, and comorbidities. They may experience physical and mental barriers to adherence, which should be overcome with education and compassion. In the discussed case, the support of family members plays a crucial role in assisting the patient with limited physical strength.
References
Blocker, K. A., Insel, K. C., Koerner, K. M., & Rogers, W. A. (2017). Understanding the medication adherence strategies of older adults with hypertension. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society annual meeting (pp. 11-15). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications.
Holroyd-Leduc, J., & Reddy, M. (Eds.). (2012). Evidence-based geriatric medicine: A practical clinical guide. Hoboken, NJ: Blackwell Publishing.
Resnick, B. (Ed.). (2016). Geriatric nursing review syllabus: A core curriculum in advanced practice geriatric nursing (5th ed.). New York, NY: American Geriatrics Society.
Yap, A. F., Thirumoorthy, T., & Kwan, Y. H. (2016). Medication adherence in the elderly. Journal of Clinical Gerontology and Geriatrics, 7(2), 64-67.
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