Medication Adherence in Elders Research Proposal

Medication Adherence in Elders - Research Proposal Example Medical adherence has been defined by Osterberg & Blaschke, (2005) as â€Å"the extent to which patients take medications as prescribed by their health care providers†. It has been reported as a crucial factor determining the health and well being of elderly population by the World Health Organization (Chung et al., 2008). The issue has been reported to have high prevalence varying from 8-71%, 13-93% during various studies. It has been estimated to result in huge economic burden as well as high mortality (Unni, 2008). Recent evidences indicate that only 50% of the prescribed doses are actually taken by individuals diagnosed with chronic diseases. Of these patients approximately 22% take medication in quantities lesser than the amount recommended, 12% do not fill their prescription and 12% buy the medication but forego them entirely. Though race, ethnicity and age have not been reported to be a risk factor for medication non-adherence, the issue is rendered critical among elder ly patients due to the high vulnerability of this age group to chronic illnesses (Kocureck, 2009). In the light of above discussion the importance of research investigating the various aspects of the medication adherence in elderly population is highlighted. The current research aims to examine the prevalence rates of medication adherence in elderly population. Literature Review High prevalence and large economic burden of medical non adherence has led to extensive studies and investigations enabling an understanding of the issue and devising adherence strategies. However despite the prolific research conducted during the last three decades an optimal strategy is lacking and hence the prevalence rates for non adherence are still on a rise. An estimated 100 billion dollar remains the annual cost of dealing with complications such as hospitalization, disability, disease aggravation mortality etc resulting as a consequence of non adherence (Wertheimer & Santella, 2003). On the basis of causes of non-adherence two types of medication non-adherence have been identified: intentional and unintentional. While the latter has been attributed to forgetfulness or incidental causes; the former is usually reported in patients who have been taking medications but discontinue upon feeling better or worse. However later research has shown that patient’s belief is an important contributor to forgetfulness in taking medication rendering ‘forgetting to take medication’ not a purely unintentional type of non-adherence (Unni, 2008). The major obstacles to medication resulting in non-adherence include forgetfulness, different priorities, deliberate omission of doses, information deficit and certain psychological factors. While the aforementioned factors are at least partially under the control of patients, certain factors such as cost, patient lifestyle inconsistent with medication timing and complex medication regime are important contributing factors attributed to the health care provider (Osterberg & Blaschke, 2005). Six patterns of medication adherence have been identified in patients with chronic diseases. First group adheres to the prescribed doses and timings fully, second is characterized by delays but with complete doses, third miss a single doses occasionally and also are inconsistent with

The problems of development ( advencement raising quality of life in Research Paper

The problems of development ( advencement raising quality of life in Africa - Research Paper Example â€Å"In the midst of the election process, the people in the east of the  Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC) are in danger. Why? Because of the fighting between the army and the militia groups. The United Nations World Food Programme sounds the alarm.† (Food Crisis in Congo) There is very wrong perception of the rich people that there is no food shortage in the world and this is because they have all the luxuries in the world, but they have just noticed the sharp increase in food price. However, food is becoming a scarce resource and this increase in prices is a result of food crisis which is one of the most important global issues. According to The Oxford Committee for Famine Relief (OXFAM), there are 967 billion people who do not have enough amount of food to eat (2008). It is found that the global food crisis exists because of several causes. Oil crisis is one of the main factors which have a direct impact on the food crisis, the prices of food transportation and agricult ural fertilizers have increased because of the oil crisis and the same directly affects the food crisis. Population growth is another cause especially in middle class countries such as India the same has led to an increase in the demand of meat that apply more grain in order to be produced than other commodities. Climate change has also affected food production where drought covered several parts of the world such as south Asia. Trade is another cause of food crisis because imported goods might be cheaper than goods produced in the country, so poor farmers are forced to reduce the price of their products. Finally, Biofuel production is considered as one of the biggest causes of food crisis since the price of food has increased at the same time as biofuel production has increased. The food crisis not only affects the developing countries but it has also started taking a toll on the developed countries. This essay considers the responses to food crisis in Congo which is a developing c ountry in South Africa. To understand this issue, we fist need to explain the reasons for food crisis in Congo. Then, we will discuss and evaluate the current responses to this problem there. Finally, other appropriate responses to solve the food crisis in Congo will be presented. As a poor developing country in Africa, Congo has been suffering from economical Decline since its independence from the British in the year 1980, and this is exactly the main factor for food crisis. Weak economical situation in Congo brings about less than 30 per cent of employment as a result of which, hunger expands in the country and more people live in extreme poverty (IRIN, 2008). 5.5 billion dollars as dept on the Congo government to be paid to other countries, this goes to show how fragile the Congo government is. According to the same source, irregular and delays in dept payment led some countries to stop trade with the Congo government. Many areas in Congo receive less rain than before which resu lts in less food production (Care, n.d). For instance, maize, which is the stable food in Congo, harvests declined by one third from the production ten years ago (IRIN 2, 2008). Even in areas where it rains regularly, many people are still hungry because farmers do not have enough amounts of seed and fertilizer to cover the demand (Famine Early Warning System Network, 2008). Now it is clear that economical decline, unemployment,