Older people's knowledge of the purpose of drugs prescribed at primary care appointments

Rationale, aims and objectives: Patient adherence to medication is related to successful pharmacotherapy; however, many patients do not take their medications as prescribed because of poor understanding of their purpose.This study aimed to assess older people’s knowledge of the purpose of drugs prescribed at medical appointments in primary care units and the possible factors related to their level of knowledge about their medications. Method: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in 22 basic health units in Brazil. Older people from this sample who were treated in a primary care setting were interviewed after a consultation with a family practice physician. Data were collected from September 2016 to March 2019. Patients aged ≥ 60 years who visited the primary care units were included in the study (n = 674). Knowledge of prescribed medications was assessed by comparing the responses to the questionnaire and the medication and prescription information. Multivariate analyses were conducted using a Poisson regression with robust variance. Results: The mean age of the sample was 70.1 (standard deviation: ± 7.1) years. Among 674 patients, 272 (40.4%) did not know the indication of at least one of their prescribed drugs; among them 78 (11.6%) did not know the indication of any of their prescribed drugs. In the final multivariate analysis, polypharmacy, illiteracy, and cognitive impairment were found to be associated with misunderstanding the purpose of at least one prescribed drug. Moreover, illiteracy and cognitive impairment were associated with a greater misunderstanding of the purpose of all prescribed drugs. Conclusions: In the studied sample, patients demonstrated a high rate of misunderstanding of the purpose of prescribed drugs. Therefore, it is necessary for health services and professionals to implement strategies that increase the quality of the guidance and instructions given to older people in order to promote adherence to treatment.

Vaccinations of Children Against Chickenpox and Pneumococcal Infection on the Example of Several Family Practice Physicians' Settings

Introduction. Vaccinations against varicella and pneumococcal infection are an important form of prevention of infectious diseases and their possible complications. Aim. Assessment of the vaccination control of children against varicella, and pneumococcal infection based on selected institutions of family practice physician. Material and methods. There were verified 807 immunization cards of children from three vaccination offices, selected at random from the area of the southeastern Poland, i.e. the provinces of Lubelskie, Podkarpackie and Świêtokrzyskie. Based on the results of quantitative analysis of medical records of vaccination carried out in these institutions through 2007-2012, the number of children vaccinated against varicella, and pneumococcal infection was assessed. Results. The largest number of vaccinated children (against pneumococcal infection - 148 children and 84 against varicella among 335 subjects reporting in the facility) was confirmed in health care unit in Lublin. In health care unit in Podkarpackie the number of vaccinated children against pneumococcal infection was 84 and against chicken pox - 52 among 256 children using the medical services. In health care unit in Świêtokrzyskie, 65 children were vaccinated against pneumococcal infection and 34 against varicella among 216 subjects reporting at the institution. The vast majority of these vaccines (431 - including three centers) was paid by parents. Conclusions. 1. In all of the centers, a higher proportion of children was vaccinated against pneumococcal infection than chickenpox. 2. There was not a marked increase in the number of children vaccinated against varicella and pneumococcal infection during the analyzed period.