Pharmacists lead health education for elderly and caregivers

The General Council of Official Colleges of Pharmacists (CGCOF) has completed its ‘Rural Health Schools for Vulnerable Elderly Patients’ project, training 3,318 elderly individuals and caregivers. Data from the initiative indicates a significant knowledge gap, with approximately 67% of elderly participants and 66.5% of caregivers reporting they had never previously received advice regarding self-care or medication use.

The project involved 126 community pharmacies located in municipalities with fewer than 30,000 inhabitants across 33 provinces. Of the participants, 1,855 were elderly individuals, 76.5% of whom were women. The majority of caregivers involved (80.6%) were non-professionals.

In Madrid, the Official College of Pharmacists of Madrid (COFM) recently hosted the Regional Minister of Health, Fátima Matute, to discuss the institutional support provided to pharmacists and the ongoing collaboration between the Ministry of Health and the COFM to bolster regional sanitary and social labor.