Abstract:

The goal of this research is to reveal the peculiarities of commitment to the ongoing drug therapy in elderly patients depending on the nature of the disease and the form of the medicine. The researching showed that the elderly degree of commitment to drug therapy is 53.2% and is significantly more low, than at the patients of middle age, for whom this indicator is of 78.4%. This allows us to consider old age of the independent factor of reduction of the level of commitment to the appointed doctor drug therapy. The elderly the most significant reasons for the decrease in the level of commitment to drug therapy are such factors as fear of side-effects of therapy (in 3.6% of cases), forgetfulness when medication (33,3%), the presence of the articular syndrome and other physical difficulties that hinder the taking of medicines (18,9%), inconvenient size tablet forms (8,1%), economic failure patients (7,5%), the need to receive a large amount of drugs (polypragmasy) (5,6%), health literacy patient (1,8%). These factors are significantly more frequent among elderly patients than among middle-aged patients. In old age, in addition to the age and age-related peculiarities of physical and mental status are independent factors of decrease adherence to the prescribed drug therapy, may be the form of medicines, appointed by the doctor. The most often in the elderly commitment to decreases in the appointment of such medicinal forms as eye drops, injectable forms of medicines, drugs, contained in vials directly and tablet forms of drugs.

Keywords: adherence to drug therapy, elderly