Use of self-prescribed nonprescription medications and dietary supplements among assisted living facility residents.

OBJECTIVE

Describe the prevalence of self-prescribed use and misuse as well as users' opinions concerning nonprescription medications and dietary supplements in assisted living facilities.

DESIGN

Descriptive cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Two assisted living facilities (ALFs) in Oregon and Washington State.

PARTICIPANTS

Convenience sample of 45 ALF residents.

INTERVENTION: Chart reviews and face-to-face interviews.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence and types of use of self-prescribed over-the-counter (OTC) medications and dietary supplements; misuse of these products, and participants' opinions concerning use of these products.

RESULTS

Among 29 women and 16 men with a mean (+/- SD) age of 84.8 +/- 6.9 years and a mean of 9.9 +/- 6.4 years of education, 84.4% were using selfprescribed OTC medications and dietary supplements at the time of this study. A mean of 3.4 products was used per participant. Nutritional supplements were most frequently used (32% of products), followed by gastrointestinal products (17%), pain relievers (16.3%), herbals (14.4%), topical products (12%), and cold/cough products (8.5%). Potential misuse was identified in 23 (51%) of the participants. Problems in the use of products included duplication (70%), potential drug/disease/food interactions (20.8%), and other inappropriate use (9.1%). The majority (76%) of the participants believed the products were helpful in maintaining health, 56% of them wanted more product information, 49% sought product information from family and friends, 40% turned to their physicians and nurses for information, and 11% asked pharmacists for advice.

CONCLUSION

The use of nonprescription medications and dietary supplements among ALF residents was high, and simultaneous use of multiple products with the same active ingredient was the most prevalent problem. The residents turned to family and friends, physicians, nurses, and ALF staff for information on these products more frequently than they did to pharmacists.