Nurse knowledge about potentially inappropriate medications for elderly

Due to the consequences of changes in fertility and mortality rates, there is an increase in population aging. In this context, the use of potentially inappropriate medications in this population makes nurses important agents in the identification of adverse reactions, requiring their knowledge about these drugs and their effects. The study aimed to verify nurses knowledge about the 2015 AGS BeersCriteria, regarding the potentially inappropriate medications for the elderly, and their adverse effects. It is a cross-sectional, descriptive, and analytical study with a quantitative and qualitative approach performed in a teaching hospital in the Triângulo Mineiro, Minas Gerais. Of the 80 professionals, 74.1% reported attending the elderly frequently, and only 3.8% had a specialization course in elderly health. Only 13.8% reported knowing the Beers Criteria. And 69% believe that adverse drug reactions can be confused as a new symptom and because of this, new drugs can be inserted into the therapeutic plan. Three categories emerged: The importance of assertive knowledge about PIMs, The nurse as a fundamental character in ADR, and Knowledge as a reinforcer of care. There is evidence of the need to train nurses to better identify adverse drug reactions so that they can act on these events avoiding the worsening of the individual.

Hospitalization of elderly people for conditions sensitive to primary health care in a city in the Triângulo Mineiro

This study aimed to analyze the profile of hospitalizations sensitive to primary care in the elderly according to age and sex. This is an ecological study with description of sensitive hospitalizations of elderly residents in the city of Uberaba - MG from 2009 to 2018. The proportion of hospitalizations for sensitive conditions compared to the total number of hospitalizations and the rates of sensitive hospitalizations were analyzed. For the other analyzes, the causes of hospitalization by age and sex were analyzed, and descriptive analyzes were carried out in terms of frequency and percentage. The proportion of sensitive hospitalizations decreased in the period between 2009 and 2016, with the most expressive groups of causes related to the cardiovascular system (heart failure, angina, and cerebrovascular diseases), elderly people aged 80 years and over and male. Ecological studies with public domain data are of fundamental importance in the analysis of the health conditions of the populations and in the direction of the health actions undertaken, especially those carried out by Primary Health Care (PHC).