Medication Management and Medication Safety in Older Adults

A special issue of Journal of Ageing and Longevity (ISSN 2673-9259).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2025) | Viewed by 2877

Special Issue Editor

Department of Pharmacotherapeutics and Clinical Research, College of Pharmacy, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Tampa, FL 33612, USA
Interests: geriatrics; transitions of care; medication safety; Alzheimer’s disease; Parkinson’s disease; herbals and alternative medicine; heart failure; osteoarthritis; pain management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

I invite you to submit articles to our Special Issue on medication management and safety in older adults.

Managing medications becomes difficult for our older adult population. Older adults tend to have multiple comorbidities and most take more than five medications per day. Add to this the propensity to add over-the-counter medications and supplements, and the risks multiply. The number of medications used is a risk factor for adverse drug reactions, difficulty with adherence, drug interactions, falls/injuries, and financial burden. Many studies have shown that a greater number of medications used is a significant factor associated with frequent emergency department visits [1].

Polypharmacy often involves the use of inappropriate medications in older adults. Although there are many tools to assist with recognizing these medications, they are still frequently prescribed. Some medications started as an adult for an appropriate reason fall into this category as a patient ages. There are many proposed strategies for assisting patients with managing medications and improving medication safety in this population, but not much evidence with positive results.

This Special Issue welcomes articles of all types on this topic.

References:

  1. Dufour, I.; Chouinard, MC.; Dubuc, N.; Beaudin,J.; Lafontaine S.; Hudon, C. Factors associated with frequent use of emergency-department services in a geriatric population: a systematic review. BMC Geriatr. 2019, 19, 185. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-019-1197-9

Dr. Carol Fox
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Ageing and Longevity is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • older adult
  • medication management
  • medication safety
  • deprescribing

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

14 pages, 323 KB  
Article
Polypharmacy and the Use of Potentially Inappropriate Medications in Elderly People in Nursing Homes: A Cross-Sectional Study
by Giulia Fest, Lara Costa, Ezequiel Pinto, Helena Leitão and Tânia Nascimento
J. Ageing Longev. 2025, 5(4), 54; https://doi.org/10.3390/jal5040054 - 29 Nov 2025
Viewed by 802
Abstract
Polypharmacy and the use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIM) are prevalent issues among institutionalized older adults, contributing to adverse drug events and decreased quality of life. This study aimed to describe the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics associated with polypharmacy and the use of [...] Read more.
Polypharmacy and the use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIM) are prevalent issues among institutionalized older adults, contributing to adverse drug events and decreased quality of life. This study aimed to describe the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics associated with polypharmacy and the use of PIM in elderly people in nursing homes. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 151 residents aged ≥ 65 years. Data was extracted from institutional records. The mean age of participants was 86.48 ± 8.00 years; 71.5% were female. Excessive polypharmacy was observed in 49.7% of residents. The mean number of medications was 9.66 ± 4.18, with nervous system drugs being the most prescribed (3.73 ± 2.31). PDDIs were detected in 94% of the sample and PIMs were present in 82.8% of residents. The most common PIMs were proton pump inhibitors (ATC A) and anxiolytics (ATC N). Binary logistic regression identified two independent predictors for PIMs: the total number of medications (AOR = 1.259) and the use of ATC A (Alimentary tract and metabolism) medications (AOR = 2.315). Conversely, age and sex were not significant predictors. The study reveals a critical prevalence of excessive polypharmacy, PIM use, and PDDIs among institutionalized elderly in the Algarve. These findings underscore the urgent need for systematic, multidisciplinary medication reviews in Portuguese nursing homes to promote safer and more rational prescribing practices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Medication Management and Medication Safety in Older Adults)
15 pages, 1712 KB  
Article
Healthcare Redesign of Medication Management for Parkinson’s Inpatients
by Susan Williams, Marissa Anne Iannuzzi and Sarah J. Prior
J. Ageing Longev. 2025, 5(3), 33; https://doi.org/10.3390/jal5030033 - 15 Sep 2025
Viewed by 1121
Abstract
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological disorder reliant on medication regime adherence to alleviate symptomology. When hospitalised, people with Parkinson’s disease have specific medication management needs which are consistently unmet. This study aims to develop, implement and evaluate solutions for improving the medication [...] Read more.
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological disorder reliant on medication regime adherence to alleviate symptomology. When hospitalised, people with Parkinson’s disease have specific medication management needs which are consistently unmet. This study aims to develop, implement and evaluate solutions for improving the medication management of inpatients with Parkinson’s disease. A healthcare redesign approach was utilised, focusing on the final three phases: solutions design, implementation and evaluation. Five solutions were derived: formalise routine patient identification, provide improved staff education, develop and install automated prescriber alerts, review and amend ward PD medication stock, and develop systematic prompts for PD medications. The findings suggest that our solutions sustainably improved systems and processes that contribute to quality and safe medication management for Parkinson’s patients. Correct identification of Parkinson’s patients within an acute care hospital leads to correct prescription of medications, timeliness of medication administration and timely pharmacy review. The length of stay was not positively impacted. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Medication Management and Medication Safety in Older Adults)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop