2021 | Volume 1 | Article 102 01 Journal of Nursing and Community Medicine Poly- Pharmacy among Elderly Patients: Perception and Practices Mohamed Elsayed Aboudonya 1 , Soheir badr Elden 2 , Sameer Hamdi 3 , Hanan Elzeblawy Hassan 4 * 1 Nursing science teaching specialist in Technical Health Institute of Imbaba, Egypt 2 Professor of Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Cairo University, Egypt 3 Lecturer of Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Beni-Suef University, Egypt 4 Maternal and Newborn Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Beni-Suef University, Egypt ABSTRACT Background: Poly-pharmacy can worsen frailty, a term that refers to the collection of health problems an older adult may face. This includes delirium and cognitive impairment, falls, and decreased functional ability. Poly-pharmacy has also been documented as a major risk factor for adverse drug reactions in the developed countries. Aim of the study: The study aims to assess of knowledge and practices regarding Poly-pharmacy among old-age patients. Design: Descriptive cross-sectional study design was used. Subjects & Setting: convenient sample consisted of 114 elderly patients visiting outpatient clinics afliated to Beni- Suef university hospital. Tools: (1) an interview questionnaire to assess geriatric patient’s Poly-pharmacy knowledge; (2) A checklist to assess poly pharmacies’ alternative practices. Results: two-thirds of the study sample (66.7%) was taking medication based on their previous experience, 57% depended on the pharmacist’s prescription, 44.7% took medication based on the experience of a family member, 32.5 % are aware of the meaning of Poly-pharmacy while 23.7% are aware of the Poly-pharmacy contributing factors. Conclusion: The prevalence of Poly-pharmacy and its consequences among the elderly is signifcantly consequent to the level of education. Recommended: Designing an educational program for the elderly to increase their awareness and knowledge about the phenomenon of drug abuse and its consequences. Keywords: Poly-pharmacy, Old age, life style, Practices Introduction Demographics of the population have been changed globally over recent years with increasing life expectancy proportion of elderly people. The WHO has predicted that the number of older people (65 years and older is the traditional defnition) worldwide will reach 1.5 billion by 2050 [1]. Poly-pharmacy can worsen frailty, a term that refers to the collection of health problems an older adult may face. This includes delirium and cognitive impairment, falls, and decreased functional ability. Poly-pharmacy has also been documented *Correspondence: Hanan Elzeblawy Hassan, Maternal and Newborn Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Beni-Suef University, Egypt Tel: , E-mail: nona_nano_1712@yahoo.com Received date: 31 October 2021; Accepted date: 07 December 2021; Published date: 14 December 2021 Copyrights: © 2021 El Hadji Seydou Mbaye. This is an open Access article distributed under the term of the Creative Common Attribution Licence, Which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Research Article as a major risk factor for Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in the developed countries. In a case-control study carried out among old-age people, Poly-pharmacy was found to be an independent risk factor for hip fractures [2,3]. It is documented that there is a relationship between aging and co-morbidities. Multi-morbidity is commonly defned as the co-existence of two or more chronic health conditions which is common in the older population. The presence of multiple chronic conditions increases the complexity of therapeutic management for both health professionals and patients and impacts negatively on health outcomes. Multi-morbidity is linked to lower quality of life, self-rated health, mobility, and functional capacity, as well as more hospitalizations, physiological discomfort, health-care resource utilization, death, and expenditures. Globally, the health burden of multi-morbidity is expected to rise signifcantly as a result of the growing number of older people and increasing numbers of people living with multi-morbidity [4]. The elderly are more prone to chronic illnesses due to aging and physiological changes; with older people (up to about 80%) sufering from chronic illnesses. As a result, this group