Chronic psychotropic drug use among frail elderly women receiving home care services.
Over the years, psychotropic drugs have been prescribed for symptoms of anxiety and/or insomnia. Elderly women are especially at risk of chronic use and ensuing side-effects. We examined psychosocial processes associated with long-term psychotropic drug use. We conducted in-depth interviews with 21 frail elderly women in a home care program and 14 of their primary caregivers. Results yielded a descriptive model of chronic use that takes into account antecedents of use, initial and subsequent prescription processes, individual contextual circumstances, the effect of the social context, and the women's cognitive strategies employed to make prolonged use coherent with their self-image.
Department of Psychology, University of Quebec, Outaouais, QC, Canada. guilheme.perodeau@uqo.ca
Guilhème
G
Pérodeau
Isabelle
I
Paradis
Sébastien
S
Grenier
Kieron
K
O'Connor
Emilie
E
Grenon
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001007:Anxiety / Q000188:drug therapy; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy; D005260:Female; D016330:Frail Elderly; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy
D011619:Psychotropic Drugs