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Medication Administration Hassles Reported by Family Caregivers of Dependent Elderly Persons

^a College of Nursing and Health Professions, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
^b Department of Communication, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
^c Departments of Family and Preventive Medicine, Geriatric Medicine, University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City

Shirley S. Travis, Dean W. Colvard Distinguished Professor of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, College of Nursing and Health Professions, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223 E-mail: sstravis{at}email.uncc.edu.

Decision Editor: William B. Ershler, MD

Background. Even under the new long-term care mantra for increased home- and community-based care options, attention to and an understanding of the ways that family caregivers are managing complex care for dependent elderly persons, for example, with medication administration, have been slow to materialize.

Methods. Twenty-three family caregivers completed semistructured, face-to-face interviews to capture the shared and idiosyncratic experiences of individuals responsible for all aspects of medication administration regimens for elderly, dependent family members. Data analysis consisted of content analysis of the verbatim interview transcripts. This article reports an emerging typology of caregiver medication administration hassles derived from the interviews.

Results. Based on 122 separate accounts, three categories of medication administration hassles were identified. The categories (with the percentage of all accounts represented by the category) include (i) scheduling logistics (29.5%), (ii) administration procedures (31.9%), and (iii) safety issues (38.6%).

Conclusions. Primary care providers must continually reevaluate and simplify medication regimens for dependent elderly persons in the care of family members, and the family caregivers must be given adequate training and access to ongoing information support systems to help them perform safe and effective medication administration responsibilities.