MEDICATION SAFETY IN COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER ADULTS

Abstract

This article-based thesis comprises two manuscripts on medication safety strategies in community-dwelling older adults. A phenomenological method was used to conduct semi-structured interviews with 28 community-dwelling older adults over 65 years who took five or more prescription medications daily. Caregivers were encouraged to participate in interviews. The objective of the first manuscript was to explore the roles of patients, pharmacists, and providers in medication safety from the perspective of community-dwelling older adults. Inductive thematic analysis revealed six themes indicating varying perceived roles of medication safety by older adults. In addition, results show that the provider and pharmacist roles overlap but are independent of the roles of older adults and their caregivers. The second manuscript examined strategies used by older adults and compared those to the medication safety guidelines set by the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institute for Aging. We also compared the two agencies' guidelines. We found some gaps between the two agencies. We also found that older adults followed some of the guidelines, but there were also several areas of discordance. Understanding older adults' role expectations and safety strategies could shape the future of medication safety interventions in this population and improve health outcomes through enhanced patient-provider collaborative work.