The Psychological Impacts of Pill Dysphagia: A Mixed Methods Study

This study aimed to address this gap in the literature by investigating the effects of pill dysphagia on the wellbeing of older adults. A community sample of 132 Australians aged 65 –97 years completed a survey about their wellbeing and difficulty swallowing pills. Thirty-one participants who met the criteria for pill dysphagia completed further open-ended questions detailing the effects of pill dysphagia and how they manage it. Analyses of the quantitative data indicated tha t difficulty swallowing pills was unrelated to negative affect but negatively related to positive affect, life satisfaction, and eudemonic wellbeing. Supplementary analyses controlling for health-related variables found no significant relationships between difficulty swallowing pills and wellbeing. Responses to the open-ended questions revealed a range of physical, psychological, and practical impacts of pill dysphagia, and successful and unsuccessful methods used to assist in swallowing pills. The findings partially support the hypothesised effects of pill dysphagia on wellbeing. However, fur ther research is required to establish if more severe pill dysphagia predicts wellbeing over and above self-rated health. Future interventions should incorporate wellbeing promotion strategies for older adults with pill dysphagia.
Source: Dysphagia - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Source Type: research