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Drug Consumption Among Elderly—A Four‐Year Study
Author(s) -
Wagner Lis,
Wahlberg Vivian,
Worning Anne Marie
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of caring sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.678
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1471-6712
pISSN - 0283-9318
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-6712.1994.tb00239.x
Subject(s) - danish , medicine , drug , drug administration , intervention (counseling) , autonomy , nursing homes , family medicine , consumption (sociology) , gerontology , nursing , psychiatry , social science , philosophy , linguistics , sociology , political science , law
The aim of the study was to analyse whether a radical structural change in the provision of care for the elderly, including changes in the pattern of drug administration, might influence drug consumption among residents in a Danish nursing home. A comprehensive reorganization of the care of the residents took place in the mid‐1980s. The general approach to self‐care, with greater autonomy and influence over one's own life was also disseminated to the area of administration of medication. Previously the nurses had been responsible for this area but a new model was introduced in 1986 in principle permitting all residents to be in charge of their own medication. The study was carried out as a survey over four consecutive years from 1985 to 1988, and included 48 residents in a nursing home of whom 24 participated in all four surveys. A minimum of drugs were administered immediately after the change in regimen. Although a slight increase was recorded in the subsequent years, the level of drug consumption did not reach pre‐intervention levels. The total number of regularly administered drugs per day in survey 1 averaged 4.6 drugs/person. In survey 2 this had decreased to average 3.6 (p <0.05).