Research of satisfaction with pharmaceutical care among the elderly in remote areas of Belgorod region

Aim – to investigate aspects of satisfaction with pharmaceutical care by elderly people in rural areas of the Belgorod region.

Material and methods. The study used a specially developed questionnaire providing anonymity of all participants. A total of 350 elderly visitors to pharmacies located in rural areas in the Valuysk District of the Belgorod Region took part in the study. The survey participants were selected by the method of random sampling among local residents visiting pharmacies. Questionnaires were filled out manually on paper. Given that many elderly people have vision problems, the questions were read aloud. Data questionnaires were processed using Microsoft Excel 2016 and Statistica v. 10. Content analysis, sociological, statistical, analytical, ranking, comparative, graphic research methods were used.

Results. It was found that the level of quality and availability of pharmaceutical care for the elderly in pharmacy organizations located in rural areas of the Belgorod Region was low. It was established that elderly people living in rural areas visit the pharmacy less often due to limited mobility caused by age, as well as due to the significant territorial remoteness of pharmacies. In addition, the low level of availability of pharmaceutical care for the studied category of visitors is also due to insufficiency, and often lack of elements of an accessible environment when entering pharmacy organizations. The quality of pharmaceutical care in pharmacies located in rural areas causes dissatisfaction among elderly respondents, which is associated with high prices for drugs, lack of information about analogues and the need to wait in queues, as well as inadequate pharmaceutical counseling.

Conclusion. The necessity of making systemic decisions on optimization of pharmaceutical assistance in small settlements, its improvement when working with elderly customers has been established.