• Investigating the influencing factors on the tendency to self-medication of traumatized elderly: a case study of Shiraz elderly
  • Elahe Sedigh,1,* Shiva Pirsabzy,2 Zeinab Sadat Moosavifard,3
    1. Bachelor of Nursing student, Young and Elite Researchers Club, Department of Nursing, Bandar Abbas Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bandar Abbas, Iran
    2. Bachelor of Nursing student, Young and Elite Researchers Club, Department of Nursing, Bandar Abbas Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bandar Abbas, Iran
    3. Faculty of Nursing , Department of Nursing, Bandar Abbas Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bandar Abbas, Iran


  • Introduction: The fifth cause of death in patients over 65 years old is trauma, and 28% of people who die from trauma are elderly, while only 12% of trauma patients are elderly. Trauma is the most common cause of injury among the elderly. In this research, the aim of the comparative study of the tendency to self-medication among the traumatized elderly in Shiraz city was based on the factors of residence, gender, trust and lack of trust in city doctors, literacy and whether or not they have insurance.
  • Methods: In this research, to obtain information, a researcher-made questionnaire was used, in which questions related to independent and dependent variables were asked, and to analyze the data, average comparison statistics and one-way analysis of variance were used.
  • Results: Overall, the findings of the research showed that there is less self-medication among elderly men with trauma than elderly women, and those who have insurance coverage commit less self-medication than those who are not covered by insurance. Those who have more trust in city doctors and were literate and also from urban areas tend to self-medicate less among them. On the other hand, the elderly who had less trust in doctors, are illiterate and are from rural areas, tend to self-medicate more among them.
  • Conclusion: Elderly people should take measures to reduce self-medication along with doctors and the government as three sides of a triangle. In the first stage, the elderly (especially women and rural elderly) should be fully aware that with uninformed self-treatment, not only the disease caused by their trauma will not be relieved, but it will also bring bad consequences. In the second stage, doctors should raise The capacity of self-compassionate acceptance of the elderly, especially the elderly with trauma, and in the third stage, the government should help the elderly with coherent and efficient policies, including insurance coverage for the elderly.
  • Keywords: Elderly, trauma, self-medication