Yetim, Birol; Selvi Sarıgül, Seval; Uğurluoğlu, Özgür; Çelik, Yusuf

The main purpose of this study is to identify the key factors affecting polypharmacy and medication adherence in elderly patients and to determine the impact of polypharmacy and medication adherence on their quality of life. The research was conducted on 326 patients aged 65 and older who applied to a family health center in Erzincan, Turkiye, between January and February 2025. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to analyze the data. The analyses indicated that increasing age affected polypharmacy, medication adherence, and quality of life of the elderly. Moreover, the type of disease and the medication cascade were identified as the determinants of polypharmacy, while the duration of the disease was observed to affect medication adherence. It was determined that polypharmacy affected medication adherence and quality of life, while gender and medication adherence also had a significant impact on the patient’s quality of life (p<0.05). These findings suggest that polypharmacy and medication adherence have significant effects on the quality of life of elderly individuals. Therefore, it is important to monitor and evaluate polypharmacy regimens periodically with evidence-based therapeutic strategies and well-structured strategic plans to improve patients’ quality of life and medication adherence.

Selvi Sarıgül, Seval; Ürek, Duygu; Uğurluoğlu, Özgür

Background: The aim of this study is to examine the effects of health literacy levels of caregivers on the self-care behaviors and quality of life of patients aged 65 years and older with heart failure. Methods: The study was conducted in a university hospital in Erzincan, Türkiye between November 4, 2023, and February 12, 2024, on patients hospitalized in internal medicine, cardiology, and cardiovascular surgery wards and their caregivers (n = 206 pairs). Results: As a result of the multivariate regression analysis, it was determined that the access, appraisal, and application sub-dimensions of the health literacy of the caregivers positively affected the self-care behaviors and quality of life levels of the patients. Conclusions: These results reveal the significant effect of the health literacy levels of the caregivers in the management process of heart failure disease. Healthcare providers -especially nurses- can improve patient outcomes of patients with heart failure by considering the health literacy level of their caregivers and using innovative educational methods that can improve the health knowledge and skills of caregivers.