Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease , Cognition Disorders/chemically induced , Depression/drug therapy , Nortriptyline/adverse effects , Aged , Alzheimer Disease/psychology , Attention/drug effects , Humans , Intelligence/drug effects , Male , Memory, Short-Term/drug effects , Psychomotor Performance/drug effectsABSTRACT
Self-care and illness response to a recent medical event were examined based on a mailed questionnaire to a random sample of 416 adults in a frontier area in north-central Idaho. A total of 494 questionnaires were returned (45% response rate), and 78 were eliminated. Self-care behaviors were classified as: (1) waiting to see what would happen, (2) purchasing or taking a nonprescription medication, (3) taking a prescription medication that was on hand, (4) taking both a prescription and a nonprescription medication, (5) contacting a physician, and (6) going to a hospital. These six variables were classified into three intervention constructs of no intervention (waiting), informal intervention (self-medicating), and formal intervention (contacting a health care professional). Fifty-six percent of the respondents reported self-medicating behaviors. Correlation analysis indicated that initial self-care and illness response behaviors in this frontier area were generally appropriate. Three multiple discriminant models were tested to differentiate those people who waited, self-medicated, and contacted formal providers from those who did not. A significant model could not discriminate between those who waited and those who did not. Models for self-medicating and contacting formal providers correctly classified cases 60 to 70 percent of the time. The analyses indicate that self-medicating was more likely to be reported by younger individuals, by those who lived further from the hospital, who perceived their health status to be better, who reported less satisfaction with community health care services, and that the self-medicating was appropriate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Subject(s)
Patient Acceptance of Health Care/statistics & numerical data , Rural Health/statistics & numerical data , Self Care/statistics & numerical data , Adult , Discriminant Analysis , Evaluation Studies as Topic , Female , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Health Services Research/methods , Health Status , Humans , Idaho/epidemiology , Male , Self Care/psychology , Self Medication/psychology , Self Medication/statistics & numerical data , Socioeconomic Factors , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Large hospitals appear to have advantages in using specialized clinical practitioners to provide prospective reviews on drug therapy. Using the PRMC pharmacy service as a model, a prospective DUE program can be duplicated in small hospitals with four or five fulltime pharmacists. The minimal requirements are a microbiology laboratory, administrative support, and a pharmacy service committed to providing prospective patient oriented care.
