551 EASING THE STRAIN OF CONSTIPATION IN CARE HOMES
Authors: Kirkpatrick F , Crawford P 
Published: June 2021

Introduction

Older individuals are particularly prone to constipation with a reported prevalence of up 50% for those living in community with the prevalence rising to 70% within nursing homes (De Giorgio et al, 2015 1).

Objectives

To assess impact of staff education & pharmacist intervention on appropriateness of laxative use: Staff education: Examine the baseline knowledge of care home staff on constipation and laxative use: Formulate an education package to deliver to care home staff on key aspects of laxative use: Evaluate the staff knowledge, post the educational intervention.: Impact of pharmacist medication review on laxative use: Evaluate impact of pharmacist review on appropriateness of laxative use in care Homes.

Method

Three BHSCT Care Homes being case managed by the Medicines Optimisation Pharmacist were included in the study. Staff Education: The baseline knowledge of care home staff was examined by questionnaire, pre- and post-educational intervention on key aspects of laxative use. Staff directly administering medication or directly impacting on patients’ care in were included. An education package on key aspects of laxative use for delivery in nursing homes was designed and implemented. Impact of Pharmacist medication review on laxative use: We retrospectively examined if 30 patients were prescribed multiple laxatives from the same group as an indicator of inappropriate laxative use, pre and post pharmacist intervention.

Results

Staff education: Thirty-three staff completed the questionnaires. The educational package developed on laxative use had a positive impact on the knowledge of the staff on constipation and laxative use with statistically significant improvements in staff knowledge post education, with p-value &lt;0.05. Healthcare assistants’ mean percentage increase in knowledge following education mirrored that of nursing staff at almost 50%. Impact of Pharmacist medication review on laxative use: There was a statistically significant improvement in appropriateness of laxative prescribing following the pharmacist led medication review of 30 residents. Fewer patients were prescribed laxatives from the same class following medication reviews with a p value of &lt; 0.00001, the result is significant at p &lt; 0.05.

Discussion

The positive impact of this study supports the conclusion by Chen et al 2 (2014) that patient and carer education should be first line treatment for non-severe constipation. Shen Q et al 3 (2018) suggested that educational intervention for patients can effectively improve constipation symptoms, treatment and result in improved health habits however this study provides further evidence that the education of care home staff plays a significant role in improving the appropriate management of constipation for care home residents. Pharmacist-led review of laxatives has the potential to improve a Care Home resident’s quality of life, as previously suggested by Dennison et al 4 (2005), with the potential to reduce the risk of complications or hospital admissions from ineffective treatment of chronic constipation.

Conclusion

The development & delivery of a bespoke laxative educational package along with pharmacist medication review of residents’ current laxatives regimes resulted in a statistically improved appropriateness in laxative use. The education package developed will be shared with Medicines Optimisation for Older People (MOOP) Care Home Pharmacists for delivery in NI trusts.

References

1. De Giorgio et al. 2015. Chronic constipation in the elderly: a primer for gastroenterologist. BMC Gastroenterology, 14:130.

2. Dennison, C et al. 2005. the health-related quality of life and economic burden of constipation. Pharmaceoconmics 23 (5), 461–476.

3. Chen I. C. et al. (2014). Prevalence and effectiveness of laxative use among elderly residents in a regional hospital affiliated nursing home in Hsinchu County. Nursing and Midwifery Studies, 3(1), e13962.

4. Shen Q et al. (2018) Nurse-Led Self-Management Educational Intervention Improves Symptoms of Patients With Functional Constipation. West J Nurs Res. 2018 Jun;40(6):874–888.

5. Dennison et al. (2005) The Health-Related Quality of Life and Economic Burden of Constipation. Pharmacoeconomics, 23 (5), 461–476.