Rocznik Andragogiczny (Apr 2018)
Medication use in the elderly – the need for health education
Abstract
Worldwide tendency of a rising life expectancy among populations, resulting in an increase of the retired in the demographic structure, makes the senior health education an extremely important issue. Insufficient preparation to prevent and cope with multiple health threats associated with aging indicates an urgent need to increase seniors’ knowledge and skills in the area of health. The paper aims at depicting geriatric pharmacotherapy that entails medication abuse and dependency among the elderly, both resulting in serious problems of medical, psychological, and sociological nature. Educating on both negative and positive aspects of aging, as well as the pharmaceutical use are essential considering the lack of proper health care policy for the elderly.
Keywords