Factors related to consent to take medication among elderly patients visiting clinics for lifestyle-related diseases

Abstract

Objective:

To identify factors related to consent with medication among elderly people who visit clinics for lifestyle-related diseases.

Methods:

A questionnaire survey was conducted targeting patients visiting the outpatient clinic for lifestyle-related diseases. Descriptive statistics were calculated for items related to the attributes and backgrounds of the respondents, prescription details, and factors associated with consent to take medication. In exploring factors associated with consent with medication, we first examined 30 items considered to be related to “consent with the necessity of medication” (hereinafter referred to as “consent with medication”) and other attributes and backgrounds.

Results:

We obtained 328 valid responses. The average age was 76.2 ± 6.92 years, and the average number of medications per day was 8.4 ± 6.09. Twenty items were found to be significantly associated with medication consent, including 14 items related to thoughts about medication and six items related to interactions with physicians and other healthcare professionals. Furthermore, in the ordinal logistic regression analysis, four items were identified as factors associated with medication adherence: “Understanding the effects of medication” (OR: 1.80, 95% CI: 1.22-2.65), “Less medication is better than more” (OR: 1.43, 95% CI: 1.13-1.80), “Being able to consult with a physician or other healthcare professional about medication” (OR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.05–1.74), and “trusting the physician” (OR: 2.05, 95% CI: 1.26–3.33).

Conclusion:

This study suggests that trust in the physician and understanding of the effects of medication are important factors in medication adherence among elderly patients with lifestyle-related diseases.