How to Improve Healthcare for Patients with Multimorbidity and Polypharmacy in Primary Care: A Pragmatic Cluster-Randomized Clinical Trial of the MULTIPAP Intervention.

(1) Purpose: To investigate a complex MULTIPAP intervention that implements the Ariadne principles in a primary care population of young-elderly patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy and to evaluate its effectiveness for improving the appropriateness of prescriptions. (2) Methods: A pragmatic cluster-randomized clinical trial was conducted involving 38 family practices in Spain. Patients aged 65-74 years with multimorbidity and polypharmacy were recruited. Family physicians (FPs) were randomly allocated to continue usual care or to provide the MULTIPAP intervention based on the Ariadne principles with two components: FP training (eMULTIPAP) and FP patient interviews. The primary outcome was the appropriateness of prescribing, measured as the between-group difference in the mean Medication Appropriateness Index (MAI) score change from the baseline to the 6-month follow-up. The secondary outcomes were quality of life (EQ-5D-5 L), patient perceptions of shared decision making (collaboRATE), use of health services, treatment adherence, and incidence of drug adverse events (all at 1 year), using multi-level regression models, with FP as a random effect. (3) Results: We recruited 117 FPs and 593 of their patients. In the intention-to-treat analysis, the between-group difference for the mean MAI score change after a 6-month follow-up was -2.42 (95% CI from -4.27 to -0.59) and, between baseline and a 12-month follow-up was -3.40 (95% CI from -5.45 to -1.34). There were no significant differences in any other secondary outcomes. (4) Conclusions: The MULTIPAP intervention improved medication appropriateness sustainably over the follow-up time. The small magnitude of the effect, however, advises caution in the interpretation of the results given the paucity of evidence for the clinical benefit of the observed change in the MAI. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02866799.

Cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric validation of a Spanish version of the revised Patients' Attitudes Towards Deprescribing (rPATD) questionnaire.

OBJECTIVES: Successful deprescribing depends largely on factors related to the patient. The revised Patients' Attitudes Towards Deprescribing (rPATD) questionnaire was developed with the objective of evaluating the beliefs and attitudes of older adults and caregivers towards deprescribing. The present study was designed to validate a Spanish version of the rPATD questionnaire, both the versions for older adults and for caregivers, through a qualitative validation phase and the analysis of its psychometric properties. DESIGN: Cross-sectional validation study. SETTING: Primary care settings in Málaga (Spain). PARTICIPANTS: A sample of 120 subjects (60 patients with polypharmacy and 60 caregivers of patients with polypharmacy) were enrolled in the study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: In the qualitative validation stage, the rPATD questionnaire was translated/back-translated and subjected to a cross-cultural adaptation to evaluate its face validity and feasibility. Next, its psychometric properties were assessed. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate construct validity. Internal consistency was determined using Cronbach's alpha test. Criterion validity through pre-established hypotheses from the Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ) Specific-Concerns Scale, and test-retest reliability were analysed. RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis verified the four-factor structure of the original rPATD questionnaire, with items loading into four factors: involvement, burden, appropriateness and concerns about stopping. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the factors ranged from 0.683 to 0.879. The burden, appropriateness and concerns about stopping factors were significantly correlated with the BMQ Specific-Concerns Score, except for the concerns about stopping factor in the older adults' version. The consistency of the items between administration times (test-retest reliability) showed weighted Cohen's kappa values ranging from moderate (>0.4) to very good (>0.8). CONCLUSIONS: The Spanish version of the rPATD questionnaire is a feasible, valid and reliable instrument to evaluate attitudes towards deprescribing in Spanish-speaking patients and caregivers.

Training primary care professionals in multimorbidity management: Educational assessment of the eMULTIPAP course.

Multimorbidity (MM) is a widespread problem and it poses unsolved issues like the healthcare professionals' training. A training curriculum has been proposed, but it has not been sufficiently explored in a clinical context. The eMULTIPAP course is part of the MULTIPAP complex intervention, applied through a pragmatic controlled, cluster randomized clinical trial to general practitioners (GP) and his/her patients with MM with 12 months follow-up. The eMULTIPAP course is based on problem-based learning, constructivism and Ariadne principles. It has been assessed according to the Kirkpatrick model and has shown knowledge improvement and high applicability of learning with more motivation to consider MM in the clinical practice. It has also improved the Medication Appropriateness Index at 6-months and at 12- months. We conclude that the eMULTIPAP course generates significant changes in GP's learning, enhancing clinical practice in multimorbidity scenarios.