Results : Intentional factors affecting adherence include patient , caregiver and prescriber beliefs about therapies and the disease itself .
Conclusion : Due to the high level of caregiver involvement in the care of patients with AD , strategies that address caregiver concerns may improve adherence
Background / Aims : Treatment adherence is a major problem in numerous medical conditions , and is a particular challenge in patients with Alzheimer 's disease ( AD ) .
Can elderly people take their medicine?
This study used performance tests to assess the cognitive , visual and physical abilities related to taking medicines in the elderly population . The study population consisted of the Swedish Panel Study of Living Conditions of the Oldest Old ( SWEOLD II ) , a nationally representative interview survey . SWEOLD II is a r and om sample of all community-based and institutionalized persons aged 77 + in Sweden . Five tests related to medication management were administered in the direct interviews ( n=492 ) : h and function ( opening bottle ) , vision ( reading label ) , and medication competence ( comprehension and calculation ) . Results showed that 9.4 % could not read instructions on a medicine container and 14.6 % had difficulty opening a plastic flip-top medicine bottle . The three cognitive tests related to taking medicine result ed in 30.7 , 47.4 and 20.1 % errors . Combining all the tests revealed that 66.3 % of the sample had at least one limitation of capacity related to taking medicine . There were no significant gender differences . Among those people who did not pass all the tests , 31.8 % lived alone with no home-help . Taking medicines is a complex task and a large proportion of the Swedish elderly population has cognitive , visual or physical limitations that may hinder their ability to take medicines accurately . Awareness of these limitations is essential to concordance
Results : Intentional factors affecting adherence include patient , caregiver and prescriber beliefs about therapies and the disease itself .
Conclusion : Due to the high level of caregiver involvement in the care of patients with AD , strategies that address caregiver concerns may improve adherence
Background / Aims : Treatment adherence is a major problem in numerous medical conditions , and is a particular challenge in patients with Alzheimer 's disease ( AD ) .