الفهرس 
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Abstract
Background: The old-age people now constitute more than 60% of the world population. The old-age population suffers from chronic diseases and multimorbidity and is treated with an increasing number of drugs which arises the phenomenon of polypharmacy. Polypharmacy has been defined as per a recent systematic review as the concurrent use of five or more different prescription medications. Aim: To assess the level of knowledge regarding Poly-pharmacy among old-age patients, and assess the alternative practices used by old-age patients to control Poly-pharmacy. Methods: Design: Descriptive cross-sectional study design was used. Subjects & Setting: The sample size was 114 elderly patients picked from outpatient clinics monthly. Tools: (1) Questionnaire to assess geriatric patient’s polypharmacy knowledge, (2) Checklist to assess poly pharmacy’s alternative practices. Results: The data showed that near half of the study sample (41.2%) was unaware of Poly-pharmacy definition, more than a third of the study sample (36.8%) didn’t know about Poly-pharmacy contributing factors. More than a third of the study sample (35.9%) was unaware of the Poly-pharmacy impact on their cognitive function and less than one-third of the study sample (29.8%) didn’t know the measures that are reducing Poly-pharmacy. The majority of the study sample wasn’t reading the labels of the medications nor adhering to the immunization system of the old age (79.8%) and (78%) respectively. Almost three-quarters of the study sample (74.5%) wasn’t practicing exercise, while two-thirds of the study sample (61.4%) was asking about the right dose and right route. Conclusion: The study concluded that; the knowledge about polypharmacy among the elderly was insufficient and there was inadequate adherence to its alternative practices, which was significantly consequent to the low to average level of education of the studied sample. Recommendations: Developing an education team composed of nurses who have the potential and interest to educate elderly patients about their medications and on how to control polypharmacy, designing an educational program for the elderly, aiming to increase their and knowledge and how to maintain awareness of a healthy lifestyle and also the safe; Activating the role of health educators during inpatient discharge and within outpatient services to promote the use of non-drug methods.