Older people and laxative use: literature review and pilot study report

• This study explored older adults’ perceptions of constipation, and the measures taken if they believed themselves to be afflicted by this condition. • The paper provides an overview of the current literature surrounding laxative use, followed by a discussion of the pilot study and its findings. • The objectives of the pilot study were to establish older people’s definitions of the term ‘constipation’; identify prescribed laxatives, over‐the‐counter laxatives, and home remedies used by older people to manage constipation; produce a detailed account of when these products are used; identify the older person’s belief system underpinning their concepts of constipation, and their consequent use of laxative products; and produce information which will inform nursing practice, with a particular focus on nurses in community practice. • People who identified themselves as being constipated were interviewed on a one to one basis. • Participants shared their stories of loneliness, social isolation and anxiety related to constipation and the need to use laxatives on a daily basis, and described persistent unpleasant and often painful physical symptoms such as bloating, urges, excessive flatus, nausea and cramps, commonly associated with laxative ingestion. • Nurses are challenged to work with older people within a ‘wellness’ framework, helping clients to maintain their bowel function, rather than fall back on short‐term options, which provide only brief relief of symptoms, while ignoring the underlying causes.