Knowledge regarding polypharmacy of elderly client among the nursing pprofession

Abstract

The specter of polypharmacy of elderly is an ever-increasing problem. Nurse plays a functional role in assisting patients to understand the danger of polypharmacy. Nurses working in MIMSR Medical College and Hospital, Latur were assessed for their knowledge and their experiences in polypharmacy during their nursing practice. This descriptive study was performed to find the association between variables under observation using questionnaires. A total of 30 nurses participated (17 male and 13 female) in this study. The definition of polypharmacy of elderly was correctly identified by only 3 (10%), while 19 (63.66%) of the nursing personnel were not aware of the polypharmacy of elderly. The knowledge of polypharmacy was inadequate among the nursing personnel though they were found to have hands-on-experience in polypharmacy. Working knowledge of rationale polypharmacy is essential among nursing personnel to reduce the complications in elderly population.