A qualitative study examining everyday frailty management strategies adopted by Polish stakeholders

Background: Frailty is a multidimensional clinical state that is common in older age and can be managed through intervention. Strategies to manage frailty have not been previously explored with stakeholders in Poland. This may stem from misperceptions about the nature and malleability of frailty, which has resulted in it being viewed as a lower priority healthcare concern. Objectives: To explore stakeholders' views to determine whether there are effective everyday strategies that they can adopt to reduce, reverse or prevent frailty. Methods: Semi-structured focus groups were conducted with five stakeholder groups (frail/pre-frail and robust older adults, health and social care professionals and family caregivers) in Poland ( n  = 44). Data was analysed using a reflexive thematic analysis approach. Results: Two themes were developed. The first emphasized both the positive everyday and more effortful strategies used by individuals to counter frailty; these included the adoption of healthy lifestyle behaviours, social engagement and shared experiences. Stakeholders perceived that older adults, even frail ones, might benefit from engaging in meaningful activities to build resilience against frailty. The second examined formal interventions delivered by health and social care professionals. Stakeholders noted the need to increase awareness of the malleability of frailty among professionals. Conclusion: Raising awareness of the malleability of frailty amongst health and social care professionals is critical. Further, information provision and personal support should be essential elements of health interventions aimed at older adults and family caregivers. Interventions to support resilience building in older adults should also be framed within a model of fostering self-efficacy.[Box: see text]

[Editorial Note] EuGMS Task and Finish group on Fall-Risk-Increasing Drugs (FRIDs): position on knowledge dissemination, management, and future research

Falls are under-recognized as adverse drug events. Healthcare professionals are reluctant to withdraw fall-risk-increasing medications. The EuGMS Task and Finish group on fall-risk-increasing drugs (FRIDs) proposes in this paper its recommendations on dissemination of knowledge about, management of, and future research on FRIDs. Falls are a major public health concern in the older population, and certain medication classes are a significant risk factor for falls. However, knowledge is lacking among both physicians and older people, including caregivers, concerning the role of medication as a risk factor. In the present statement, the European Geriatric Medicine Society (EuGMS) Task and Finish group on fall-risk-increasing drugs (FRIDs), in collaboration with the EuGMS Special Interest group on Pharmacology and the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS) Geriatric Medicine Section, outlines its position regarding knowledge dissemination on medication-related falls in older people across Europe. The EuGMS Task and Finish group is developing educational materials to facilitate knowledge dissemination for healthcare professionals and older people. In addition, steps in primary prevention through judicious prescribing, deprescribing of FRIDs (withdrawal and dose reduction), and gaps in current research are outlined in this position paper

Nurse-Led Medicines' Monitoring for Patients with Dementia in Care Homes: A Pragmatic Cohort Stepped Wedge Cluster Randomised Trial

People with dementia are susceptible to adverse drug reactions (ADRs). However, they are not always closely monitored for potential problems relating to their medicines: structured nurse-led ADR Profiles have the potential to address this care gap. We aimed to assess the number and nature of clinical problems identified and addressed and changes in prescribing following introduction of nurse-led medicines' monitoring.Pragmatic cohort stepped-wedge cluster Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) of structured nurse-led medicines' monitoring versus usual care.Five UK private sector care homes.41 service users, taking at least one antipsychotic, antidepressant or anti-epileptic medicine.Nurses completed the West Wales ADR (WWADR) Profile for Mental Health Medicines with each participant according to trial step.Problems addressed and changes in medicines prescribed.Information was collected from participants' notes before randomisation and after each of five monthly trial steps. The impact of the Profile on problems found, actions taken and reduction in mental health medicines was explored in multivariate analyses, accounting for data collection step and site.Five of 10 sites and 43 of 49 service users approached participated. Profile administration increased the number of problems addressed from a mean of 6.02 [SD 2.92] to 9.86 [4.48], effect size 3.84, 95% CI 2.57-4.11, P <0.001. For example, pain was more likely to be treated (adjusted Odds Ratio [aOR] 3.84, 1.78-8.30), and more patients attended dentists and opticians (aOR 52.76 [11.80-235.90] and 5.12 [1.45-18.03] respectively). Profile use was associated with reduction in mental health medicines (aOR 4.45, 1.15-17.22).The WWADR Profile for Mental Health Medicines can improve the quality and safety of care, and warrants further investigation as a strategy to mitigate the known adverse effects of prescribed medicines.ISRCTN 48133332

Safety assessment of essential medicines for elderly people: a bibliographic survey

Certain medicines are considered potentially inappropriate (PIM) for elderly people as they increase the risk of adverse drug events (ADE) and because safer alternative therapies are available on the market. In this context, in order to identify the instruments that assess the quality of medical prescriptions for elderly and to determine which drugs are considered PIM, a bibliographic survey was conducted in PUBMED, LILACS and PAHO databases, in February and March/2010. The search strategy included the use of health descriptors and a manual search in the references cited by selected papers. During the period of data collection, 15 instruments were identified. In 2012, with the publication of the update of Beers criteria, this instrument was included in the study. We identified 163 PIM of 25 therapeutic classes, of which 125 (76.7%) are marketed in Brazil. Of these, 31 (24.8%) are essential medicines (RENAME 2012), of which 13 have safer therapeutic equivalents and 19 (15.2%) are over-the-counter drugs. Data suggest the need for inclusion of safer alternatives for the elderly in the national list of essential medicines and the pharmaceutical care for early detection of ADE in this age group, in order to contribute to the safe use of medicines