Healthcare for Older Adults with Multimorbidity: A Scoping Review of Reviews

Patient Experiences and Perceptions of Care Coordination in Primary Care

BACKGROUND

Understanding patient perceptions of care coordination in primary care can help improve responsiveness to patients' needs, outcomes, and quality of care.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to explore patient experiences and perceptions of care coordination in primary care.

METHOD

Interviews with 13 patients from 10 clinics were conducted and analyzed using directed content analysis.

RESULTS

Three primary themes arose: care coordinators provide a gateway to accessing needed care; patients needed and valued the support and trusted advice of their care coordinators; and patients valued care coordinators' help with navigating, engaging, and educating them about their care.

CONCLUSIONS

Understanding what patients value in care delivery can help frame a vision for a more responsive approach in delivering primary care, as well as create a pathway to quality improvement, moving toward a truly patient-centered focus in primary care.

Building Medication Profiles in the Elderly: a Qualitative Study Based on Medication Information Literacy in a Long-Term Care Facility

Purpose

Long-term care facilities are increasingly challenged with meeting the diverse healthcare needs of the elderly population, particularly concerning medication management. Understanding medication information literacy and behavior among this demographic is imperative. Therefore, this qualitative study aims to explore medication information literacy and develop distinct medication profiles among elderly long-term care residents.

Material and Methods

In this study, we conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 32 participants aged 65 or older residing in a long-term care facility. The interviews were designed to explore participants' understanding of medication information, medication management practices, and experiences with healthcare providers. Thematic analysis was employed to analyze the interview data, allowing for the identification of common patterns and themes related to medication-taking behavior among the elderly residents.

Results

The thematic analysis revealed four distinct medication behavior profiles among the elderly long-term care residents: (1) Proactive Health Self-Managers, (2) Medication Information Adherents, (3) Experience-Based Medication Users, and (4) Nonadherent Medication Users. These findings provide valuable insights into the diverse approaches to medication management within long-term care facilities and underscore the importance of tailored interventions to support the specific needs of each profile.

Conclusion

This study highlights the necessity for tailored medication education and support to optimize medication management for the elderly. With the aging population expansion, addressing the unique medication challenges within long-term care facilities becomes increasingly critical. This research contributes to ongoing endeavors to enhance healthcare services for the elderly, striving for safer and more effective medication-taking behavior.