Safer clinical practices
EU-Funded Research Highlights Deprescribing of Harmful Medications in Insomnia Treatment for Seniors
Belgium, Europe – October 2023
In a recent Lancet publication, European researchers unveil critical insights into insomnia treatment for older adults, shedding light on the vital role of deprescribing potentially harmful medications in older adults.
The research team comprises experts from different European institutions, namely Université catholique de Louvain (Belgium), Instytut Psychiatrii i Neurologii w Warszawie (Poland), University of Bern (Switzerland), and Fundació Salut i Envelliment UAB (Spain). These institutions are actively engaged in the development of the BE-SAFE project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme and by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).
The team advocates that beyond recommendations on the use of medications for insomnia (including benzodiazepine receptor agonists [BZRA]), it is necessary to provide recommendations on the deprescription of some medications that may be more harmful than beneficial. This deprescription practices are aligned with recent recommendations published by the MAGIC Evidence Ecosystem Foundation, one of the partners in BE-SAFE.
Research into the management of insomnia is not limited to the development of new medications, but also aims to find effective approaches to de-implement practices that are widely used but jeopardize patients’ safety and well-being. Older adults are an important target when it comes to considering BZRA deprescription, but many barriers remain to have deprescription implemented in routine practice.
Pr. Anne Spinewine, scientific coordinator of BE-SAFE highlighted: “It is imperative to develop and evaluate approaches that better account for patients as well as health care professionals’ barriers to deprescribing, and this is what partners involved in the BE-SAFE project are currently developing, in close collaboration with patients and healthcare professionals”.
More information:
Christiaens et al., 2023, Deprescribing benzodiazepine receptor agonists for insomnia in older adults. The Lancet. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)01562-3/fulltext
BE-SAFE in a nutshell
The BE-SAFE project is targeting patient safety by addressing knowledge and practice gaps related to the reduction of medications used for sleep problems in Europe. Experts and patients are involved to promote an interdisciplinary and inter-sectorial approach. BE-SAFE is a European research project funded by the European Commission Horizon programme under the work programme HORIZON-HLTH-2021-CARE-05-01: Enhancing quality of care and patient safety) and by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) (contract No 22.00116). The project duration will be from 2022 to 2027.
|
Press contact |
|
|
Prof. Anne Spinewine |
Laura Fernández Maldonado |
|
Project coordinator |
Communication Coordinator |
