| 1. |
- Stankunas, Mindaugas, et al.
(författare)
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Factors associated with refraining from buying prescribed medications among older people in Europe
- 2014
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Ingår i: Australasian Journal on Ageing. - : Wiley. - 1440-6381 .- 1741-6612. ; 33:4, s. 25-36
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AimTo evaluate the associations between refraining from buying prescribed medications and selected factors among older persons.MethodsA total of 4467 people aged 60–84 years from seven European countries answered a questionnaire (response rate 45.2%). Refraining from buying prescribed medications was measured with the question: ‘Have you ever refrained from buying prescribed medication and care?’ResultsAbout 11.9% of older people refrained from buying prescribed medications. The multiple regression analysis showed that ages 60–64 (odds ratio (OR) = 2.08; 95% confidence interval (95%CI): 1.38–3.13) and 65–69 (OR = 1.73; 95%CI: 1.16–2.57) years, experience of financial strain (OR = 1.59; 95%CI: 1.27–2.01), as well as exposure to abuse (OR = 1.64; 95%CI: 1.31–2.06) when taking into account country of participant were independently associated with refraining from buying medications, while an opposite association was observed for being male (OR = 0.72; 95%CI: 0.58–0.91).ConclusionsThe study has revealed that refraining from buying prescription medications is a problem among older people and it has identified a number of factors associated with this.
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| 2. |
- Stankuniene, Aurima, et al.
(författare)
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The prevalence of self-reported underuse of medications due to cost for the elderly: results from seven European urban communities
- 2015
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Ingår i: BMC Health Services Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6963. ; 15, s. 1-8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of self-reported underuse of medications due toprocurement costs amongst older persons from seven European urban communities.Methods: The data were collected in a cross-sectional study (“ABUEL, Elder abuse: A multinational prevalencesurvey”) in 2009. Randomly selected people aged 60–84 years (n = 4,467) from seven urban communities: Stuttgart(Germany), Athens (Greece), Ancona (Italy), Kaunas (Lithuania), Porto (Portugal), Granada (Spain) and Stockholm(Sweden) were interviewed. Response rate - 45.2 %. Ethical permission was received in each country.Results: The results indicate that 3.6 % (n = 162) of the respondents self-reported refraining from buying prescribedmedications due to cost. The highest prevalence of this problem was identified in Lithuania (15.7 %, n = 99) and Portugal(4.3 %, n = 28). Other countries reported lower percentages of refraining from buying medications (Germany – 2.0 %,Italy – 1.6 %, Sweden – 1.0 %, Greece – 0.6 %, Spain – 0.3 %). Females refrained more often from buying medicationsthan males (2.6 % vs. 4.4 %, p < 0.0001). The prevalence of this refraining tended to increase with economic hardship.Discussion: These differences between countries can be only partly described by the financing of health-care systems.In spite of the presence of cost reimbursement mechanisms, patients need to make co-payments (or in some cases topay the full price) for prescribed medications. This indicates that the purchasing power of people in 10.1186/s12913-015-1089-4 the particular country can play a major role and be related with the economic situation in the country. Lithuania,which has reported the highest refrain rates, had the lowest gross domestic product (at the time of conducting thisstudy) of all participating countries in the study.Conclusions: Refraining from buying the prescribed medications due to cost is a problem for women and men inrespect to ageing people in Europe. Prevalence varies by country, sex, and economic hardship.Keywords: Ageing, Accessibility, Medications, Europe, ABUEL
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| 3. |
- Stankuniene, Aurima, et al.
(författare)
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Use of medications amongst older persons in Kaunas, Lithuania
- 2013
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Ingår i: Open Medicine. - : Walter de Gruyter GmbH. - 1911-2092 .- 2391-5463. ; 8:6, s. 855-860
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: To evaluate the associations between socio-economical factors and the use of medications in the elderly. Methods: The data was collected in a cross-sectional study in 2009. We received 624 completed questionnaires (response rate - 48.9%) from elderly people aged 60-84 years living in Kaunas (Lithuania). For an evaluation of the impact of explanatory variables on the analyzed events (binary dependent variable), an Enter model of logistic regression was used. Results: Our findings suggest that 50.8% (n=317) of respondents used at least one drug daily. 18.3% (n=114) of respondents indicated that they use medications regularly, but not on a day-by-day basis. One quarter (25.6%; n=160) used medication only on an "at need" basis. Only 5.3% (n=33) of older persons did not use any medications at all. Logistic regression showed that being male (OR=0.67; 95%CI:0.45-0.98) was associated with using medications "regularly + daily." For the use of "daily" medications, older age (OR=1.33; 95%CI:1.15-1.53) was associated with using medications daily. An opposite association was observed for respondents having no paid work (OR=0.48; 95%CI:0.26-0.82). Conclusions: Our study suggests that more than half of older persons in Lithuania use medications every day. Use was associated with socioeconomic factors (gender, age, and employment status).
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