Knowledge and medication use of elderly patients with diabetes and hypertension
Keywords:
Knowledge, Medication behaviors, elderly, Diabetes, HypertensionAbstract
Introduction: Appropriate medication use is important in managing chronic diseases and preventing adverse drug events in the elderly.
Research objective: To study the correlation between knowledge and medication use behavior in elderly patients with diabetes and hypertension at the Diabetes and Hypertension Clinic, Singburi Hospital.
Research methodology: Descriptive research. The sample group was 321 elderly people with diabetes and hypertension, either diabetes, hypertension, or both, by simple random sampling. Data were collected from a questionnaire on knowledge about medication use and medication use behavior in elderly patients. Content validity was examined by three experts with an IOC value between 0.67 and 1.0, and the reliability value was Cronbach's alpha coefficient equal to .88 and .87, respectively. The analysis used descriptive statistics and Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient.
Research results: Knowledge about medication use in the elderly with diabetes and hypertension was good overall ( = 4.06, SD = 1.01). Drug use behavior in the elderly with diabetes and hypertension was at a good level overall ( = 3.65, SD = 1.22). Knowledge about medication use was positively related to drug use behavior in the elderly with diabetes and hypertension at a moderate level (r = .435, p-value = .000).
Conclusion: Knowledge and drug use behavior of elderly people with diabetes and hypertension in all 4 dimensions were at a good level, but the relationship between knowledge about drug use and drug use behavior was at a moderate level.
Suggestions: Improvements should be made in removing tablets from blister packs or dividing pills into bottles or pill cases, observing side effects or abnormal symptoms after taking each dose, and results should be used as a guideline for planning operations and organizing activities to develop behavioral changes in drug use among older patients with chronic diseases in other clinics.
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