Pharmacy: a gateway to access to medicines for elderly individuals living in the city of Santos

Abstract

This study aimed to profile the consumption of drugs by seniors,with emphasis on the association between the most commonly purchased drugs of continueduse and other drugs without medical prescription,and to evaluate the social role of the pharmacist in private pharmacies.The method was qualitative research, of the comprehensive and explanatory type, carried outin the city of Santos in 2008, inneighborhoods with high concentration of elderly people(IBGE 2000). In these neighborhoods, three private pharmacieswere identified.They authorized the conductionof the research for one week. During this period,interviews were performedbasedon a structured script.The results showed that the elderly mostly consumethe pharmacological classes of drugs ofcontinuous use: antihypertensives, antidiabetic drugs, diuretics and the antiplatelet agent.The main drugs acquired without medical prescription were: analgesics and antipyretics, anti-flu drugs, anti-inflammatory drugs and herbal medicines. Some of those who comprise this set could not have been acquired without prescription. The evidences point to the fact that self-prescribedconsumption, associated with the utilizationof drugs of continuous use, is a common practice among the elderly.