Reasons why older adults in three countries agreed with a deprescribing recommendation in a hypothetical vignette
Sarah E. Vordenberg, Ruchi Rana, Jenny Shang, Jae Choi, Aaron M. Scherer, Kristie Rebecca Weir
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine factors important to older adults who agreed with a deprescribing recommendation given by a general practitioner (GP) to a hypothetical patient experiencing polypharmacy. We conducted an online, vignette-based, experimental study in the United Kingdom, United States and Australia with participants ≥65 years. The primary outcome was an agreement with a deprescribing recommendation (6-point Likert scale; 1 = strongly disagree and 6 = strongly agree). We performed a content analysis of the free-text reasons provided by participants who agreed with deprescribing (score of 5 or 6). Among 2656 participants who agreed with deprescribing, approximately 53.7% shared a preference for following the GP's recommendation or considered the GP the expert. The medication was referred to as a reason for deprescribing by 35.6% of participants. Less common themes included personal experience with medicine (4.3%) and older age (4.0%). Older adults who agreed with deprescribing in a hypothetical vignette most frequently reported a desire to follow the recommendations given the GP's expertise. Future research should be conducted to help clinicians efficiently identify patients who have a strong desire to follow the doctor's recommendations related to deprescribing, as this may allow for a tailored, brief deprescribing conversation.