Older Adults with Multi-Morbidity: Medication Management Processes and Design Implications for Personal Health Applications

Abstract Objective Although family and friends (FF) often play a significant support role in the health of older adults (OA), we know little about their role in personal health information management (PHIM). To address this gap and inform the design of PHIM tools, we describe the work, needs, and barriers of FF in the context of PHIM for OAs. Methods We conducted semi-structured telephone interviews with 52 FF identified by OA as being important in their health and PHIM. We analyzed interview transcripts for themes about FF information work, barriers, and support needs. Results FF play a supportive role in OA health maintenance, medical encounters, decision making, and daily activities. Monitoring, the ongoing process of seeking information related to the OA status, emerged as a key activity comprised of 3 phases: detection, interpretation, and action. Barriers to monitoring included OA choices and constraints, FF constraints, and difficulty with technological tools, resources, health information exchange between providers, social network dynamics, and physical distance. Conclusions FF frequently monitor for change in OA well-being, seeking up-to-date information to facilitate support of OA PHIM. Health information technology tools designed for FF can support all phases of monitoring by providing: (1) timely and granular levels of access to OA health information as the OA ages; (2) tailored health education for FF that is based on OA clinical data; and (3) networking platforms that integrate delegation, volunteering, and relevant resources, along with tools to facilitate support of OA appointment calendars and medication management. Such tools could reduce the burden of PHIM for OA and their loved ones.

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Pharmacist-Led Collaborative Medication Management for the Elderly with Chronic Kidney Disease and Polypharmacy

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18084370 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (8) ◽

pp. 4370

Author(s):

A Kim ◽

Hayeon Lee ◽

Eun-Jeong Shin ◽

Eun-Jung Cho ◽

Yoon-Sook Cho ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Chronic Kidney Disease ◽

Kidney Disease ◽

Medication Management ◽

Medication Use ◽

Potentially Inappropriate Medications ◽

Management Service ◽

Ckd Stage ◽

The Impact

Inappropriate polypharmacy is likely in older adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD) owing to the considerable burden of comorbidities. We aimed to describe the impact of pharmacist-led geriatric medication management service (MMS) on the quality of medication use. This retrospective descriptive study included 95 patients who received geriatric MMS in an ambulatory care clinic in a single tertiary-care teaching hospital from May 2019 to December 2019. The average age of the patients was 74.9 ± 7.3 years; 40% of them had CKD Stage 4 or 5. Medication use quality was assessed in 87 patients. After providing MMS, the total number of medications and potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) decreased from 13.5 ± 4.3 to 10.9 ± 3.8 and 1.6 ± 1.4 to 1.0 ± 1.2 (both p < 0.001), respectively. Furthermore, the number of patients who received three or more central nervous system-active drugs and strong anticholinergic drugs decreased. Among the 354 drug-related problems identified, “missing patient documentation” was the most common, followed by “adverse effect” and “drug not indicated.” The most frequent intervention was “therapy stopped”. In conclusion, polypharmacy and PIMs were prevalent in older adults with CKD; pharmacist-led geriatric MMS improved the quality of medication use in this population.

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Exploring Older Adults’ Internalizations And Misconceptions Regarding Antihypertensive Medication Management

Proceedings of the International Symposium on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care ◽

10.1177/2327857921101221 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 304-308

Author(s):

Kenneth A. Blocker ◽

Wendy A. Rogers

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Medication Adherence ◽

Antihypertensive Medication ◽

Medication Management ◽

Illness Representation ◽

Effective Management ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Antihypertensive Medications ◽

Hypertension Knowledge ◽

Management Behaviors

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is an asymptomatic cardiovascular condition common with increasing age that must be controlled with proper management behaviors, such as adherence to prescribed antihypertensive medications. Unfortunately, older adults may struggle with consistent and effective management of this medication specifically and the disease generally, which can lead to poorer health outcomes. The goal of the study was to investigate older adults’ antihypertensive medication management using the Illness Representation Model as a lens to identify potential misconceptions that may contribute to medication management. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 40 older adults regarding management routines, hypertension knowledge, perceived nonadherence contributors, and perspectives related to their illness. We identified numerous misconceptions regarding hypertension knowledge, disease severity, as well as perceived adherence performance that may contribute to challenges older adults face with maintaining antihypertensive medication adherence. Moreover, these findings inform the need for and design of effective educational tools for improving antihypertensive medication adherence.

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Fall Prevention Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Community Stakeholders and Older Adults

Journal of Aging Research ◽

10.4061/2011/395357 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 2011 ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Sharon S. Laing ◽

Ilene F. Silver ◽

Sally York ◽

Elizabeth A. Phelan

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Fall Prevention ◽

Medication Management ◽

Well Being ◽

Washington State ◽

Telephone Surveys ◽

Department Of Health ◽

Community Stakeholders ◽

Important Health ◽

Washington State Department

We assessed knowledge, attitude, and provision of recommended fall prevention (FP) practices by employees of senior-serving organization and participation in FP practices by at-risk elders. The Washington State Department of Health administered structured telephone surveys to 50 employees and 101 elders in Washington State. Only 38% of employees felt “very knowledgeable” about FP, and a majority of their organizations did not regularly offer FP services. Almost half (48%) of seniors sustained a fall within the past 12 months; however, one-third perceived falling to be among their least important health concerns, and most had minimal working knowledge of proven FP practices. Seniors who perceived avoiding falls as important to their well-being were more likely to participate in practices about which they had the least knowledge (risk assessment, medication management). Increased awareness and availability of FP services might help engage older adults in FP practices and reduce the adverse effects of falls.

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Mobile Care System for Older Adults: perceptions about its use in caring for people with dementia

Revista Brasileira de Geriatria e Gerontologia ◽

10.1590/1981-22562020023.190277 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 23 (1) ◽

Author(s):

André da Silva Brites ◽

Celia Pereira Caldas ◽

Luciana Branco da Motta ◽

Danielli Santos do Carmo ◽

Alexandre Sztajnberg ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Older Adults ◽

Focus Groups ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Medication Management ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Cognitive Disorders ◽

Functional Evaluation ◽

People With Dementia ◽

Care System

Abstract Objective: To analyze the perceptions of caregivers and health professionals about a mobile application used for the caring and social support of people with dementia. Method: A qualitative study was performed on the experience of implementing a Mobile Care System for Older Adults (Sistema Móvel de Assistência ao Idoso, SMAI) in the routine of caregivers of people with dementia, treated at an outpatient clinic for cognitive disorders. Data were obtained through the application of questionnaires about the characteristics of caregivers and the Zarit scale to assess the level of burden. An Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire (ADLQ) was applied for functional evaluation. The perception of caregivers and professionals were collected through the audio recording of focus groups and analyzed according to the thematic-categorical analysis technique. Results: Twenty caregivers and five health professionals participated in the focus groups. Categories that emerged from the study revealed themes related to users’ experiences, communication, medication management, feelings of caregivers, patient management strategies, impact of dementia on caregivers’ lives, illness of caregivers and application evaluation. Conclusion: Interventions using mobile applications can help improve communication and social support in the care of dementia. The experience with the SMAI and its applications represented an innovative opportunity for both family caregivers and healthcare professionals.

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An Instrument to Target Education Programs on Medication Management for Older Adults

Gerontology & Geriatrics Education ◽

10.1300/j021v15n03_05 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 49-74

Author(s):

Tod R. Marion ◽

Ilene Jewell ◽

Myrna Silverman

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Medication Management ◽

Education Programs

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Human-Technology Interaction Factors Associated with Electronic Personal Health Records (ePHRs) Use Among Younger and Older Adult Users: A Secondary Data Analysis (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.27966 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yan Luo ◽

Krystal Dozier ◽

Carin Ikenberg

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Health Information ◽

Personal Health Record ◽

Age Groups ◽

Personal Health ◽

Younger Adults ◽

Clinical Notes ◽

Interaction Factors ◽

The Relationship ◽

Two Age Groups

BACKGROUND An electronic personal health record (ePHR), also known as a personal health record (PHR), was broadly defined as an electronic application through which individuals can access, manage, and share their health information in a secure and confidential environment. Although ePHRs can benefit individuals as well as caregivers and healthcare providers, the use of ePHRs among individuals continues to remain low. The relationship between age and ePHRs use has been documented in previous studies, which indicated younger age was related to higher ePHRs use, and patients who are younger were more likely to use ePHRs. OBJECTIVE The current study aims to examine the relationship between human-technology interaction factors and ePHRs use among adults, and then compare the different effects of human-technology interaction factors on ePHRs use between younger adults (18-54 years old) and older adults (55 years of age and over). METHODS We analyzed the from the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS5, Cycle 3) collected from U.S. adults aged 18 years old and over in 2019. Descriptive analysis was conducted for all variables and each item of ePHRs use. Bivariate tests (Pearson test for categorical variable and F-test for continuous variables) were conducted over four age groups. Lastly, adjusting for socio-demographics and healthcare resources, a weighted multiple linear regression was conducted to examine the relationship between human-technology interaction factors and ePHRs use. RESULTS The final sample size was 1,363 and divided into two age groups: 18-54 years old and 55 years of age and older. The average level of ePHRs use was low (Mean=2.76, range=0-8). There is no significant difference on average ePHRs use between two age groups. Including clinical notes was positively related to ePHRs use in both groups: 18-54 years old (beta=0.28, P<0.01), 55 years old and above (beta=0.15, P<0.01). While accessing ePHRs using a smartphone app was only associated with ePHRs use among younger adults (beta=0.29, P<0.001), ease to understand health information in ePHRs was positively linked to ePHRs use only among older adults (beta=0.13, P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS This study found that including clinical notes was positively related to ePHRs use in both age groups, which suggested that including clinical notes as a part of ePHRs might improve the effective use of ePHRs among patients. Moreover, accessing ePHRs using a smartphone app was associated with higher ePHRs use among younger adults while ease of understanding health information in ePHRs was linked to higher ePHRs use among older adults. The design of ePHRs should provide the option of being accessible through mobile devices to promote greater ePHRs use among young people. For older adults, providers could add additional notes to explain health information recorded in the ePHRs.

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