The Relationship Between Self-efficacy for Appropriate Medication Use and General Health of the Retired Elderly Referred to Retirement Centers in Guilan Province, Iran in 2021.

Background: General health and medication adherence is important to improve quality of life. This study aimed to determine the relationship between self-efficacy for appropriate medication use and general health of the retired elderly.

Materials and methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive and analytic study conducted on 112 elderly referred to retirement centers in east of Guilan in North of Iran by random sampling method. Data were collected using a self-efficacy for appropriate medication use scale in the elderly, a general health questionnaire, and a personal information form. Data were analyzed by nonparametric tests and Spearman coefficient using SPSS software version 16 (SPSS software version 16, IBM company, Chicago, USA).

Results: The results showed that most of the elderly had good general health levels (64%) and high self-efficacy for appropriate medication use (83%). Self-efficacy for appropriate medication use was associated with general health (p < 0.05) and with increasing self-efficacy score for appropriate medication use by one unit, the odds of being healthy increased by 23%.

Conclusions: Based on results the higher the self-efficacy score, the lower the general health score.