Interventions towards reducing adverse drug reactions among geriatric population in Africa: a scoping review of the literature from 1990-2016

Abstract

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) is an important health concern among the geriatric population, considering its negative impact on the patients’ health outcomes. Many interventions to reduce ADR among this segment of the population have however been proposed. This scoping review aims to discuss these interventions among the elderly African. A literature search was conducted to identify literature published in English between 1990 and 2016 on google scholar, Ebscohost, PubMed and African Journal Online (AJOL) databases. using the keywords, “geriatric”, “adverse drug reaction”, “inappropriate prescribing” “polypharmacy” “drug interactions” “intervention” “Africa” alone or in combination. Thirty-two articles were reviewed, out of which only 9 (28.1%) observational studies were included. Studies on ADRs amongst the geriatric population in Africa settings have essentially been limited to the prevalence of the risk factors. The majority of the studies using the explicit prescribing criteria showed that potential inappropriate prescribing (PIP) is rife in Africa and is a major risk factor for ADRs among the African geriatric population, there is, however, no interventional study towards reducing the ADRs. The validity of the explicit criteria and their relevance in predicting and preventing ADRs among the African geriatric patients have also not been reported. There is a dire need for interventional studies on strategies to reduce ADRs among the geriatric population in Africa.