Analysis of drug use in community empty-nest and non-empty-nest elderly hypertension patients / 药学实践杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the needs of community pharmacy services in elderly hypertensive patients in the community, especially empty-nest elderly patients. Methods Elderly hypertensive patients living in Ouyang street were randomly selected and divided into empty-nest and non-empty-nest groups by cluster random sampling method. The basic information of the respondents, the frequency of hypertension monitoring, the taking of hypertensive drugs, and the taking of other drugs were compared and analyzed. Results In term of “blood pressure monitoring frequency”, the daily pressure measurement of the empty-nest group and the non-empty-nest group accounted for 33.6% and 19.3%, respectively. There was significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05).In term of “the varieties of hypertension drugs” and taking 3 kinds of hypertension drugs at the same times, the empty-nest group accounted for 28.8% and the non-empty-nest group accounted for 16.7%, and the difference between the two groups was significant (P<0.05)；In term of “the varieties of drugs” and taking 1-2 kinds of Chinese patent drugs at the same time, the empty-nest group accounted for 39.6% and the non-empty-nest group accounted for 26.0% , and the difference between the two groups was significant (P<0.05)。Conclusion Community elderly patients with hypertension, especially empty-nest elderly patients have an urgent need for community pharmacy services，Community pharmacy services personnel should provide personalized and targeted medication education and guidance to elderly patients, especially empty-nest elderly patients, to promote the rational drug use in elderly patients.