Belief In Appropriateness Research Articles

Attitudes of Lebanese community-dwelling older adults towards deprescribing using the rPATD tool

ObjectivesTo assess the attitude of community-dwelling Lebanese older adults towards deprescribing using the Revised Patients' Attitudes Towards Deprescribing (rPATD) questionnaire and to determine patient-related factors that impact their willingness for deprescribing. MethodsA cross-sectional face-to-face survey was conducted in Lebanon over the period extending between October 2021 and March 2022 using the validated Arabic version of the rPATD questionnaire. It included ambulatory older adults who were 65 years of age or older, presenting to the community pharmacy, taking at least one chronic medication, and having intact cognition. Key findingsOf the 400 patients approached 300 (87%) agreed to participate. The mean age of participants was 65 (range 65-85 years) and 148 (56.3%) were females. The mean number of medications taken per patient was 5.8 ± 2.67 (range 1-18) and polypharmacy was reported among 188 patients (71.8%). Nearly all of study subjects 233 (89.0%) were willing to discontinue one or more of their regular medications if their physician said it was possible. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the appropriateness of medications factor (OR= 3.9, 95% CI 1.308, 12.16, p=0.015) and patients’ concern about stopping the medications factor (OR=0.116, 95% CI 0.033, 0.40, p = 0.001) were significantly associated with patients’ willingness to deprescribe. ConclusionA noteworthy percentage of the Lebanese older outpatients were willing to stop one or more of their regular medications if their doctor recommends so. Patients' belief in appropriateness of medications and concerns about stopping were noted to significantly influence their willingness to deprescribe in this sample population.

Translation, cross-cultural adaptation, and validation of the Danish version of the revised Patients' Attitudes Towards Deprescribing (rPATD) questionnaire: Version for older people with limited life expectancy.

Knowledge about patients' attitudes towards deprescribing is essential for optimizing medication use. The revised Patients' Attitudes Towards Deprescribing (rPATD) questionnaire is a 22-item self-report instrument capturing older patients' beliefs and attitudes towards deprescribing. To translate and cross-culturally adapt the rPATD questionnaire into Danish and subsequently validate it in a cohort of nursing home residents. The rPATD questionnaire was translated and cross-culturally adapted during five stages of forward and backward translation. The validation study included 162 Danish nursing home residents (median age 84 years; 67% women). Validity was assessed through exploratory factor analysis (structural validity) and hypothesis testing (construct validity), while reliability was assessed through internal consistency. Floor and ceiling effects were examined. The exploratory factor analysis revealed a 4-factor structure similar to the original rPATD questionnaire, with items loading into four factors related to level of involvement in medication use, perceived burden of taking medication, belief in appropriateness of using medication, and concerns about stopping medication. The questionnaire was adjusted to the Danish nursing home population and health care system by omission of two items, concerning medication expenses and inconvenience of taking medication, which resulted in a model with factor loadings ranging from 0.29 to 0.84 and only minor cross-loading. Construct validity correctly predicted 67% of the hypothesized correlations. Internal consistency of all factors was generally acceptable with Cronbach's α ranging from 0.67 to 0.78. No floor and ceiling effects were identified. Results suggest that the Danish modified model of the rPATD questionnaire generally has acceptable validity and reliability.

Attitudes of Older Adults and Caregivers in Australia toward Deprescribing.

Use of harmful and/or unnecessary medications in older adults is common. Understanding older adult and caregiver attitudes toward deprescribing will contribute to medication optimization in practice. The aims of this study were to capture the attitudes and beliefs of older adults and caregivers toward deprescribing and determine what participant characteristics and/or attitudes (if any) predicted reported willingness to have a medication deprescribed. Self-completed questionnaire. Australia. Older adults (n = 386), 65 years or older, taking one or more regular prescription medications and caregivers of older adults (n = 205) who could self-complete a written questionnaire in English. Older adult and caregiver versions of the validated revised Patients' Attitudes Towards Deprescribing (rPATD) questionnaire were completed. The rPATD includes two global questions and four factors: perceived burden of medications, belief in appropriateness of medications, concerns about stopping, and involvement in medication management. Participant characteristics, self-rated health, trust in physician, and health autonomy were also collected. Older adult participants had a median age of 74 years (interquartile range [IQR] = 70-81 y), and caregivers were aged 67 years (IQR = 59-76) and were caring for a person aged 81 years (IQR = 75-86.25 y). Most of both older adults (88%) and caregivers (84%) agreed or strongly agreed that they would be willing to stop one or more of their or their care recipient's medications if their or their care recipient's doctor said it was possible. In a binary logistic regression model, a low concern about stopping factor score was the strongest predictor of willingness to have a medication deprescribed in older adults (odds ratio [OR] = 0.12; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.04-0.34). Excellent/good rating of physical health was the strongest predictor in caregivers (OR = 3.71; 95% CI = 1.13-12.23). Most older adults and caregivers are willing to have one of their or their care recipient's medication deprescribed, although different predictors (characteristics/attitudes) of this willingness were identified in these two groups.

Development and Validation of the Revised Patients' Attitudes Towards Deprescribing (rPATD) Questionnaire: Versions for Older Adults and Caregivers.

Knowledge of consumer (patient and caregiver) attitudes is essential for conducting medication optimization in practice. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a questionnaire to capture older adults' and caregivers' beliefs and attitudes towards deprescribing. The previously validated Patients' Attitudes Towards Deprescribing (PATD) questionnaire was expanded based on literature review, expert opinion and focus groups, and a caregivers' version was developed. The revised questionnaire was piloted and then distributed for self-completion to older adults (≥65years of age), taking at least one regular medication and caregivers of older adults. Psychometric validity and reliability were examined. Responses to questions that were identified to group into a specific factor were combined to produce a score. A total of 383 consumer questionnaires and 200 caregiver questionnaires were completed and included in analysis. Exploratory factor analysis revealed four factors in both versions of the questionnaire (with four to five questions retained in each factor). The factors relate to the perceived burden of medication taking, belief in appropriateness of medication use (harms and benefits), concerns about stopping the medication, and level of involvement/knowledge of medications. Internal consistency of all factors was acceptable with Cronbach's alpha>0.6. In both the older adults' and caregivers' versions, the burden score was inversely associated with the appropriateness score (p<0.001 both versions). Factor scores between administration times (test-retest reliability) were statistically significantly correlated (p=0.000), with gamma values ranging between 0.57 and 0.89. The revised PATD questionnaire had acceptable validity and reliability. This newly validated questionnaire may provide insight into individuals' willingness for/barriers to deprescribing, with applications in practice and research.