Use of over-the-counter laxatives by community-dwelling adults to treat and prevent constipation: a national cross-sectional study.
Purpose: Constipation is commonly self-managed with over-the-counter laxatives. The study aim was to explore laxative choice, healthcare professional recommendations in laxative selection, and laxative effectiveness when laxatives are used for treatment and for prevention of constipation by communit...
| Published in: | European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology Vol. 76; no. 7; pp. 1003 - 1011 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Published: |
Springer Nature
Jul2020
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=143875492&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 143875492 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 00316970 NP9 jtl: European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology issn: 00316970 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jul2020 vid: 76 iid: 7 pid: 237 pub: Springer Nature place: New York, New York artinfo: ui: 143875492 143875492 144011300 143875492 10.1007/s00228-020-02865-5 143875492 ppf: 1003 ppct: 8 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P tig: atl: Use of over-the-counter laxatives by community-dwelling adults to treat and prevent constipation: a national cross-sectional study. aug: au: Werth, Barry L. Williams, Kylie A. Fisher, Murray J. Pont, Lisa G. affil: Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, 2006, Sydney, NSW, Australia sug: subj: Drugs, Non-Prescription Cathartics Administration and Dosage Community Living Constipation Drug Therapy Constipation Prevention and Control Human Cross Sectional Studies Australia Surveys Questionnaires Health Personnel Adolescence Young Adult Adult Middle Age Aged Adolescent: 13-18 years Adult: 19-44 years Middle Aged: 45-64 years Aged: 65+ years ab: Purpose: Constipation is commonly self-managed with over-the-counter laxatives. The study aim was to explore laxative choice, healthcare professional recommendations in laxative selection, and laxative effectiveness when laxatives are used for treatment and for prevention of constipation by community-dwelling adults. Methods: A nationally representative sample of community-dwelling adults in Australia was surveyed. Participants completed an online questionnaire. Z tests for differences in proportions were used to compare the proportion of laxatives by class when used either for treatment or for prevention of constipation by choice of laxative, healthcare professional recommendation, and perceived effectiveness. Results: The questionnaire was completed by 2024 participants. Laxatives were used by 37% (n = 747) of participants with 31.3% using laxatives for treatment, 19.3% for prevention, and 49.7% using laxatives for both purposes. The most common laxatives used for treatment and prevention were contact laxatives (39.8% and 31.1% respectively) and bulk-forming laxatives (34.3% and 44.6% respectively). Of all laxatives used, 56.4% of laxatives were chosen with healthcare professional recommendation, and 53.5% of laxatives were found effective. Conclusion: Laxatives were used both for treatment and for prevention of constipation. However, laxatives are often perceived to be ineffective and healthcare professionals are not always involved in laxative choice. Modified guidelines which address the use of laxatives for both treatment and prevention, and increased healthcare professional involvement in appropriate choice and use of laxatives, may be required to improve constipation management in the community. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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