Short summary

While older people often take a lot of medication, they are also more susceptible to the potential adverse effects of drugs compared with younger people. Deprescribing, defined as the planned, supervised dose reduction or stopping of a medication, can be used to optimize medication use. However, in order to effectively carry out deprescribing, it is important to understand how the patients feel about it. Thus, we aim to explore geriatric patients' attitudes towards deprescribing.

Rationale

Deprescribing is defined as the planned, supervised dose reduction or stopping of a medication, and can be used to optimize medication use. Before initiating any deprescribing, however, it is important to gain insight into patients' perspectives on it. In 2016, an Australian research team developed the revised Patients' Attitudes Towards Deprescribing (rPATD) questionnaire which is a 22-item self-report instrument capturing older patients' beliefs and attitudes towards deprescribing. The questionnaire has been used in several studies which have all found that older people generally want to reduce their use of medication. A Danish research team has recently translated, cross-culturally adapted, and validated the questionnaire into Danish in a cohort of nursing home residents. However, geriatric patients' values and treatment preferences remain to be investigated. Thus, with this study, we aim to explore geriatric patients' attitudes towards deprescribing through the Danish version of the rPATD questionnaire. 

Description of the cohort

The project will include geriatric ambulant and/or hospitalized patients with an OMC-score ?8. 

Data and biological material

Questionnaires.

Collaborating researchers and departments

Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacy, Department of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, and Hospital Pharmacy Funen, Odense University Hospital

• Professor Anton Pottegård

Department of Geriatric Medicine, Odense University Hospital

• Associate professor Jepser Ryg, PhD

Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacy, Department of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark

• Pharmacy student Peter Rosing Glans

Publications associated with the project

Lundby C, Graabaek T, Ryg J, Søndergaard J, Pottegård A, Nielsen DS. Health care professionals' attitudes towards deprescribing in older patients with limited life expectancy: A systematic review. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2019;85(5):868–92. 

Lundby C, Graabæk T, Ryg J, Søndergaard J, Pottegård A, Nielsen DS. ‘… Above All, It's a Matter of? This Person's Quality of Life': Health Care Professionals' Perspectives on Deprescribing in Older Patients With Limited Life Expectancy. The Gerontologist. 2019. 

Thompson W, Lundby C, Graabaek T, Nielsen DS, Ryg J, Søndergaard J, et al. Tools for Deprescribing in Frail Older Persons and Those with Limited Life Expectancy: A Systematic Review. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2019;67(1):172–80.