Interventions to address potentially inappropriate prescriptions and over-the-counter medication use among adults 65 years and older in primary care settings: protocol for a systematic review.

PURPOSE: To inform recommendations by the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care on potentially inappropriate prescribing and over-the-counter (OTC) medication use among adults aged 65 years and older in primary care settings. This protocol outlines the planned scope and methods for a systematic review of the benefits and harms and acceptability of interventions to reduce potentially inappropriate prescriptions and OTC medication use. METHODS: De novo systematic reviews will be conducted to synthesize the available evidence on (a) the benefits and harms of interventions to reduce potentially inappropriate prescriptions and OTC medications compared to no intervention, usual care, or non- or minimally active intervention among adults aged 65 years and older and (b) the acceptability of these interventions or attributes among patients. Outcomes of interest for the benefits and harms review are all-cause mortality, hospitalization, non-serious adverse drug reactions, quality of life, emergency department visits, injurious falls, medical visits, and the number of medications (and number of pills). Outcomes for the acceptability review are the preference for and relative importance of different interventions or their attributes. For the benefits and harms review, we will search MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for randomized controlled trials. For the acceptability review, we will search MEDLINE, Embase, PsycInfo, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and the NHS Economic Evaluation Database for experimental and observational studies with a comparator. Websites of relevant organizations, other grey literature sources, and reference lists of included studies and reviews will be searched. Title and abstract screening will be completed by two independent reviewers using the liberal accelerated approach. Full-text review, data extraction, risk of bias assessments, and GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) will be completed independently by two reviewers, with any disagreements resolved by consensus or by consulting with a third reviewer. The GRADE approach will be used to assess the certainty of the evidence for outcomes. DISCUSSION: The results of this systematic review will be used by the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care to inform their recommendation on potentially inappropriate prescribing and OTC medication use among adults aged 65 years and older. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO (KQ1: CRD42022302313; KQ2: CRD42022302324); Open Science Framework ( https://osf.io/urj4b/ ).

The Ottawa 3DY Predicts Mortality in a Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: The Ottawa 3DY (O3DY) is a simple measure of cognition. Objectives: 1) To determine if the O3DY predicts mortality; and 2) To compare the discrimination of the O3DY to the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Modified MMSE (3MS). Methods: Analyses of a population based cohort study of 1,751 participants aged 65+; conducted in 1991/2 with follow-up over five years. The O3DY, age, sex, education, comorbid conditions, the MMSE, and the 3MS were measured: 4.5% of the participants had missing data for the O3DY; 42.8% were considered as positive (one or more errors), and 52.7% were considered as negative (no errors). Logistic regression models were constructed with the outcome of death at time 2. A Receiver Operator Curve (ROC) was constructed and the Area Under the ROC (AUROC) was calculated using a c-statistic. Results: The unadjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for mortality was 1.96 (1.56, 2.47); and the adjusted OR was 1.33 (1.02, 1.72). The AUROC was 0.66 for the 3MS, 0.65 for the MMSE, and 0.60 for the O3DY. Conclusions: The O3DY predicts mortality over a long time frame, although the discrimination is less than that of longer measures of cognition.

Barriers and facilitators to nursing delirium screening in older emergency patients: a qualitative study using the theoretical domains framework.

BACKGROUND: delirium is common in older emergency department (ED) patients, but vastly under-recognised, in part due to lack of standardised screening processes. Understanding local context and barriers to delirium screening are integral for successful implementation of a delirium screening protocol. OBJECTIVES: we sought to identify barriers and facilitators to delirium screening by nurses in older ED patients. METHODS: we conducted 15 semi-structured, face-to-face interviews based on the Theoretical Domains Framework with bedside nurses, nurse educators and managers at two academic EDs in 2017. Two research assistants independently coded transcripts. Relevant domains and themes were identified. RESULTS: a total of 717 utterances were coded into 14 domains. Three dominant themes emerged: (i) lack of clinical prioritisation because of competing demands, lack of time and heavy workload; (ii) discordance between perceived capabilities and knowledge and (iii) hospital culture. CONCLUSION: this qualitative study explored nursing barriers and facilitators to delirium screening in older ED patients. We found that delirium was recognised as an important clinical problem; however, it was not clinically prioritised; there was a false self-perception of knowledge and ability to recognise delirium and hospital culture was a strong influencer of behaviour. Successful adoption of a delirium screening protocol will only be realised if these issues are addressed.

Multispecialty Interprofessional Team Memory Clinics: Enhancing Collaborative Practice and Health Care Providers' Experience of Dementia Care.

This study explored whether working within Multispecialty INterprofessional Team (MINT) memory clinics has an impact on health care professionals' perceptions of the challenges, attitudes, and level of collaboration associated with providing dementia care. Surveys were completed by MINT memory clinic members pre- and 6-months post-clinic launch. A total of 228 pre-and-post-training surveys were matched for analysis. After working in the MINT memory clinics for 6 months, there were significant reductions in mean ratings of the level of challenge associated with various aspects of dementia care, and significant increases in the frequency with which respondents experienced enthusiasm, inspiration, and pride in their work in dementia care and in ratings of the extent of collaboration for dementia care. This study provides some insights into the effect of collaborative, interprofessional approaches on health care professionals' perceptions of the challenges and attitudes associated with providing dementia care and level of collaboration with other health professionals.