Elderly women show neither a shortage of strategies nor an overreliance on drugs in handling aging and in dealing with minor health problems

Knowledge produced on the health of low-income older women: an integrative review

OBJECTIVE:

to identify the knowledge produced on the health of low-income older women.

METHOD:

an integrative review was conducted in February 2016 on the SCOPUS, CINAHL, MEDLINE, LILACS, EMBASE, WEB OF SCIENCE databases, and in the SciELO journals directory. After the application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, 24 articles were selected.

RESULTS:

the knowledge produced comprises two main themes: "health in face of economic adversities" and "reciprocity in social support between low-income older women and their social network".

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS:

health professionals, especially nurses, should be attentive to aspects related to social determinants and the health of low-income older women, highlighting the fact that they are not always the recipients of care.

OBJETIVO:

identificar o conhecimento produzido sobre a saúde das mulheres idosas de baixa renda.

MÉTODO:

revisão integrativa realizada em fevereiro de 2016, nas bases de dados SCOPUS, CINAHL, MEDLINE, LILACS, EMBASE, WEB OF SCIENCE e no diretório de revistas SciELO. Após aplicação dos critérios de inclusão e exclusão, foram selecionados 24 artigos.

RESULTADOS:

o conhecimento produzido congrega dois temas principais: "a saúde diante das adversidades econômicas" e "reciprocidade no apoio social entre as mulheres idosas de baixa renda e sua rede social".

CONSIDERAÇÕES FINAIS:

os profissionais de saúde, em especial o enfermeiro, devem atentar para aspectos relacionados aos determinantes sociais e de saúde de mulheres idosas de baixa renda, destacando-se que elas, nem sempre, são apenas receptoras de cuidado.

The use of nonprescription medicines among elderly patients with chronic illness and their need for pharmacist interventions

OBJECTIVE

The use of over-the-counter (OTC) products and complementary medicines (CM) often results in adverse events. Little is known about the type of pharmacist interventions needed by elderly patients to optimize their use of such products. This study examines the prevalence of OTC/CM products used among chronically ill elderly patients and the types of pharmacist interventions the patients need. Gender differences were also investigated.

DESIGN

Retrospective cohort study.

SETTING

Homes of 51 patients recruited from a major metropolitan hospital in Melbourne, Australia.

PATIENTS

Fifty-one elderly patients with chronic illness referred to the Outreach Medication Review program.

INTERVENTION

Pharmacists' interventions to optimize the use of OTC/CM products.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Number of OTC/CM products used and the number and type of pharmacists' interventions.

RESULTS

80.4% of patients were using OTC products, while 21.6% used CM products. Many OTC products were not used at the right dose, requiring pharmacists to adjust the dose in 18.7% of cases. Other patients (18.8%) were unaware of dosing regimens, while about one-third of patients needed to be educated on managing the ailment that required their use of the OTC/CM product in the first place. Men showed a nonsignificant increase in their need for pharmacist interventions.

CONCLUSION

Elderly patients in this study used OTC/CM products, often without a proper understanding of the management principles of their condition or the dosing regimens of the products they use. Men may need more pharmacist interventions in relation to their use of OTC/CM products. Pharmacists should offer comprehensive advice on managing presenting ailments and requests for OTC/CM products.