International journal of clinical pharmacy
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Multicenter Study
Attitudes towards deprescribing among multi-ethnic community-dwelling older patients and caregivers in Malaysia: a cross-sectional questionnaire study.
Background Deprescribing describes a process of medication regimen optimization with the aim to reduce adverse events and improve quality of life. There is limited research on perceptions of older adults, defined as those 60 years of age and older, about their willingness to cease a medication in developing countries. Objective To ascertain patients' attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, and experiences regarding the number of medications they were taking and their opinions regarding deprescribing. ⋯ Older adults (p = 0.003) and those with lower education level (p < 0.001) were more willing to have their medications deprescribed. Other demographic characteristics such as gender, number of medication taken or number of doctors managing patient were not found to be correlated with willingness to stop a medication. Conclusion Older adults taking multiple medications for various medical conditions were largely accepting of a trial of cessation of medication.