Imagine that you are a part time student taking a gerontology course. You work p
ID: 91950 • Letter: I
Question
Imagine that you are a part time student taking a gerontology course. You work part time for a social service agency that provides adult day programs for older adults (defined as those age 65+). Many of the caregivers who come pickup their elderly family memeber at the end of each day share with you that they are concerned about the number of medications their family memeber is taking and fear adverse drug reactions/events. They tell you that they wish there was a way the could help their family member get their medications organized to minimize the chance of an adverse drug event. You decide to do something to minimize the fear they expressed to you. Your job is to compile a list of resources (I.e., websites, articles, and videos) to give to them to educate them about the risks of overmedication. Discuss what your resources will be. Imagine that you are a part time student taking a gerontology course. You work part time for a social service agency that provides adult day programs for older adults (defined as those age 65+). Many of the caregivers who come pickup their elderly family memeber at the end of each day share with you that they are concerned about the number of medications their family memeber is taking and fear adverse drug reactions/events. They tell you that they wish there was a way the could help their family member get their medications organized to minimize the chance of an adverse drug event. You decide to do something to minimize the fear they expressed to you. Your job is to compile a list of resources (I.e., websites, articles, and videos) to give to them to educate them about the risks of overmedication. Discuss what your resources will be. Many of the caregivers who come pickup their elderly family memeber at the end of each day share with you that they are concerned about the number of medications their family memeber is taking and fear adverse drug reactions/events. They tell you that they wish there was a way the could help their family member get their medications organized to minimize the chance of an adverse drug event. You decide to do something to minimize the fear they expressed to you. Your job is to compile a list of resources (I.e., websites, articles, and videos) to give to them to educate them about the risks of overmedication. Discuss what your resources will be.Explanation / Answer
overmedication is taking unnecessary or excess medication. overmedication is a very common problem in seniors and a common problem reported by public health experts. taking excessive medications either by prescription or over the counter can be very risky as several drugs have side effects or drug drug interactions. sometimes food we consume also have interactions with the medications.
some of the simple websites, articles or videos can be suggested are the following
1. https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/16/too-many-pills-for-aging-patients/?_r=0
2. http://www.aarp.org/health/drugs-supplements/info-07-2011/medications-older-adults-should-use-with-caution.html
3. http://www.cars-rp.org/publications/Prevention%20Tactics/PT09.02.08.pdf
4. http://www.topmastersinhealthcare.com/drugged-america/
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcROGhtu33w
6. https://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/11/study-nursing-home-residents-overmedicated-undertreated/comment-page-3/
these are some of the articles, web links and videos that can be shown to the seniors to educate them on overmedications. Also, they should probe or question the doctor or primary care or nursing care personnel about their prescription and also let them know of any side effects.