Journal of Korean Gerontological Nursing 2007;9(1):40-50.

경북지역 재가노인의 약물사용 실태

장인순

Abstract

Purpose
This study was done to analyze the status of drug use in elderly people in KyongBuk province. The results of the study will provide basic information for the development of nursing interventions to promote proper drug use. Method: The study participants were 244 people over the age of 65. The instrument used was a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, chi-test and Spearman correlation coefficient were used to analyze the data.
Results
The rate of drug use was 96.7%, with a mean of 3.37 drugs per person;66.3% were taking both prescription and non-prescription drugs, 20.6%, prescription drugs only, and 9.9%, non-prescription drugs only. The rate of drug misuse was 82.3%. Both groups using prescription drugs and those using non-prescription drugs showed higher rates in almost all types of drug misuse activity compared to the group who only used prescription drugs. There was a positive correlation between the rate of drug misuse and the total number of drug used (p=0.001). The correlation rate between the rate of drug misuse and the number of non-prescription drug use was p=0.000.
Conclusion
This study suggests that medical professionals should put more effort into educating patients about the proper use of prescription drugs and develop nursing interventions to reduce drug misuse in the community.

Key words: 재가노인, 약물사용, 약물오용