Quantifying the ease or difficulty older persons experience in opening medication containers.

To compare the difficulty experienced by older persons in using various medication containers, 50 noninstitutionalized women and men over 60 years of age were timed while opening 15 containers. Pill and liquid medication bottles with and without child-resistant closure mechanisms were tested. In addition, other types of medication packaging were evaluated, such as nitroglycerin patches. All subjects could open each of the non-child-resistant containers, though none of the child-resistant containers could be opened by all participants. For child-resistant containers, dramatic differences were observed in the proportion of subjects who could open the various designs and in the amount of time required. Subjects' comments and observations of subjects' efforts provided possible reasons for some of these differences. The results suggest that when child-resistant containers are used, consideration of the type of medication container can significantly reduce inconvenience to older persons. Containers without child-resistant mechanisms provide the best option for elderly people when access by small children is not an issue.