Barriers to and Enablers of Supporting Deprescribing Benzodiazepines in Older Adults: A Survey of European Nonphysician Healthcare Professionals
We are pleased to share that our study, Barriers to and Enablers of Supporting Deprescribing Benzodiazepines in Older Adults: A Survey of European Nonphysician Healthcare Professionals, has been published in Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology!
While physicians usually lead decisions to deprescribe benzodiazepine receptor agonists (BZRA), other healthcare professionals can play an important supporting role. Our study surveyed 258 hospital-based healthcare professionals across six European countries, including nurses, psychologists, pharmacists and physiotherapists, to understand what helps or hinders their involvement.
Key findings:
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Competing priorities, limited time and staffing, and perceived patient reluctance were major barriers to supporting deprescribing.
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Professionals who recognised deprescribing as part of their role and believed in its benefits reported stronger intentions to support it.
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Greater knowledge about BZRA was associated with more routine involvement in supporting deprescribing.
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Barriers varied between professional groups and countries, highlighting the need for tailored approaches that reflect local contexts.
These findings underline the importance of involving the wider healthcare team in deprescribing and providing targeted support to help improve medication safety for older adults.
📖 Read more in:
➡️ Our publications page
➡️ The published article
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.
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Press contact |
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Prof. Anne Spinewine |
Laura Fernández Maldonado |
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Project coordinator |
Communication Coordinator |
