Adesão à farmacoterapia em idosos com doenças crônicas: estudo de caso com moradores do bairro de Neópolis

Abstract

Low adherence to pharmacotherapy is common in the general population and can lead to treatment failures, development of new diseases, increased health service costs, hospitalizations and mortality. As the elderly population has been growing over the years and has a greater chance of developing chronic diseases, problems related to low adherence to pharmacological treatment in this age group are also expected to increase. In this sense, this study evaluated adherence to pharmacotherapy in elderly people with chronic diseases, living in Natal, capital of Rio Grande do Norte, in the year 2024. The results showed that only 26.3% of the participants were classified as adherent to treatment, with married elderly people aged between 81 and 90 years showing higher adherence. This prevalence of adherence is below the results found in other studies. Elderly people with private health insurance and who use multiple medications showed lower prevalence of adherence to treatment. Therefore, the pharmacist stands out as a professional qualified to assist in the early diagnosis of chronic diseases, to practice pharmaceutical care, with a focus on guiding and monitoring these elderly individuals, in addition to being able to identify barriers related to low adherence to drug therapy.