Medication Management Among Older Adults Living Alone With Cognitive Impairment

What are the barriers and facilitators to medication management experienced by older adults living alone with cognitive impairment and their social contacts?In this qualitative study of 116 adults aged 55 years or older living alone with cognitive impairment and 54 social contacts, participants described unique barriers to managing medications while living alone, in particular, lacking medication reminders, fearing adverse effects when alone, withholding information from health care professionals to maintain independence, and encountering logistical difficulties without advocates.Detecting cognitive impairment and medication management challenges in older adults living alone is critical to achieving safe and effective medication use in this population.

Corresponding Author: Matthew E. Growdon, MD, MPH, Division of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, 490 Illinois St, Floor 8, San Francisco, CA 94158 (matthew.growdon@ucsf.edu).

Link to the article in your story

We encourage you to link out to this article in your story using the link below. It includes an access token that will give free access to the article for your readers up to one year after publication. (The link will be live after the article publishes and embargo is lifted.)

Please see the article for additional information, including full author list, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

Need more information? Contact us.