Psychosocial characterization of medication consumption in costa rica: state of the art

Abstract

It is address the phenomenon of medication consumption through a review of the literature available on the University of Costa Rica Library and Documentation System (SIBDI). There isn ́t found any research about the definition of medication from the people consuming this products; hence a definition based on legal and academic texts is given. Additionally it is presented the mainstream international tendencies to investigate consumption, use, underuse and treatment adherence, that is to say Pharmaceutical Care. From this theory derives different models like Drug therapy follow up, Dáder method, Hepler and Strand model, these are exhibit in the article. A limitation found in these theories is that they don’t delve about psychosocial and demographic variables which affect the phenomenon of medication consumption. In Costa Rica were found four specialized investigations that intended to explain medication consumption using drug therapy follow up, and some of these studies also included psychosocial and demographic variables, such as sex, age, marital status. The results from these studies show an association between age, marital status, and educational level with medication use, possession, consumption and disposal. There is also proven that Dáder method is a successful method to identify and correct pharmacotherapy failures. Nevertheless, there is not found an integrating model from any of the studies, comprehending variables related to medication, health systems and psychosocial and demographic characterization of medication consumption.