Medication use and adherence among multi‐ethnic community‐dwelling older adults in Malaysia

Aim The present study assessed adherence, barriers, belief and awareness towards the use of medications among multi‐ethnic community‐dwelling older adults in Malaysia. Medication accessibility, expenditure and perceptions towards medicine labeling among older adults were also evaluated. Methods A cr...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geriatrics & gerontology international 2017-08, Vol.17 (8), p.1214-1220
Main Authors: Neoh, Chin Fen, Long, Chiau Ming, Lim, Siong Meng, Ramasamy, Kalavathy, Shahar, Suzana, Majeed, Abu Bakar Abdul
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
adherence
Age Factors
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Attitude to Health - ethnology
community
Cross-Sectional Studies
elderly
Ethnic Groups
Female
Geriatric Assessment
Health care expenditures
Humans
Independent Living
Malaysia
Male
Medication Adherence - ethnology
medicine
Minority & ethnic groups
multi‐ethnic
Older people
Patient compliance
Polypharmacy
Prescription drugs
Reading
Risk Assessment
Sex Factors
Surveys and Questionnaires
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Aim The present study assessed adherence, barriers, belief and awareness towards the use of medications among multi‐ethnic community‐dwelling older adults in Malaysia. Medication accessibility, expenditure and perceptions towards medicine labeling among older adults were also evaluated. Methods A cross‐sectional study was carried out in the central region of Malaysia from January to August 2015. The older adults enrolled in an ongoing prospective community‐based geriatric cohort study and prescribed with medicines were interviewed using a 50‐item validated questionnaire. Results Of the 79 older adults interviewed, 39.2% had ≥4 prescribed medications. Most obtained their medications free‐of‐charge from government hospitals (66, 83.5%). Nearly half (35, 44.3%) had trouble reading labels for medicines that they had received. Chinese older adults (P = 0.001) and those with lower monthly household income (P 
ISSN:1444-1586
1447-0594
DOI:10.1111/ggi.12849