Abstract
BACKGROUND: Prescribing processes for the elderly are complex and challenging due to advanced age-related physiologic changes, co-morbidities, and co-medications which increase the chances of medication errors. There are, however, limited studies on the magnitude and profiles of medication errors among elderly populations in low-resource settings such as Tanzania. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence and profiles of medication errors among elderly in-patients at Mwananyamala Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH) in Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania. METHOD: Medical data were analyzed of patients aged 65 years and above who were admitted to MRRH between March 2019 and February 2020 for any type of illness. Medication errors were systematically assessed using STOPP/START criteria. RESULTS: Of 298 patients' records analyzed, the majority were females (n=151, 50.7%). Each patient had at least 2 diseases with an average of 5 types of medicines per patient. Twenty-eight patients (9.40%) had at least one error while the majority (n=270, 90.60%) had no medication errors. Medication omission accounted for the majority of errors present (86, 28.86%). CONCLUSION: Medication errors were prevalent among elderly patients admitted at MRRH, with diverse profiles related to the errors. Further studies are warranted to devise and adopt strategies to mitigate medication errors in this population.