Factors related to rational drug use behavior of older adults with diabetes in Mueang Sakon Nakhon District, Sakon Nakhon Province
Keywords:
Rational drug use, Medication literacy, Factors, Older adults with diabetesAbstract
This cross-sectional descriptive research aimed to study 1) examine the level of rational drug use behavior, 2) assess the level of medication literacy regarding diabetes, and 3) identify factors related to rational drug use behaviors among older adults with diabetes in Mueang District, Sakon Nakhon Province. The samples consisted of 322 older adults with diabetes selected through stratified random sampling based on primary care service units. The research instrument was a structured interview comprising general characteristics and health status, cognitive function, knowledge of diabetes, medication literacy, social support, and rational drug use behavior. The interview form was assessed for content validity by 3 experts. Its reliability ranged from 0.70 to 0.85. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Chi-square test to examine associations between variables.
The results showed that 1) 48.1% of participants revealed a high level of rational drug use behavior, 2) 65.2% of the participants had a low level of diabetes medication literacy, and 3) factors significantly related to rational drug use among older adults diabetes patients at the 0.05 level included visual and sight problems (p-value = 0.029), cognitive ability (p-value < 0.001), knowledge about diabetes (p-value = 0.012), medication literacy (p-value < 0.001) and social support (p-value < 0.001). These findings suggest promoting medication literacy and rationale drug use behavior by considering these related factors.
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