Abstract:

Purpose: The study was carried out to determine the behavior of drug use associated with drug incompatibility of elderly individuals and the relationship of these behaviors with the level of health literacy. Instrument and Method: The work is the identification-cutting type. The universe of the study was composed of a total of 1654 people aged 65 and over who were firmly registered at two family health centers located in Denizli. The sample size was calculated as 282 persons, 280 persons included in the sample. The research data was collected from elderly individuals applying to the family health center for any reason between September 2016-April 2017. The data was collected using the Social-Demographic Characteristics and Health Condition Identification Form, the Information and Behavior Identification Form for the Use of Medicines and the Adult Health Reading Scale. Number, percentage and logistical regression analysis were used for statistical analysis. The findings: The behavior of drug use associated with a frequent drug disorder in the elderly individuals was found to be forgotten to take the medication (46.4%). The scale of health literature is the average score of 11.75±3.97 and is estimated close to the average level. The low level of health readiness is determined as a risk factor for the behavior of forgetting to take medications and when you feel good without asking the doctor. The low level of health readiness is determined as a risk factor for the behavior of forgetting to take medications and giving up the drug without asking the doctor when you feel good. According to this result, it may be recommended that low levels of health readiness address the behavior of older individuals especially forgetting to take medications and when they feel good to leave the drug without asking the doctor.

Keywords: