ArticleThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2017
Beliefs about prescribed medication among older patients with polypharmacy: a mixed methods study in primary care.
Article in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 46 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 93 citations in OpenAlex.
- Experiences and Perceptions of Medication Management Communication During Transitions of Care for Residents in Aged Care Homes and Their Caregivers: A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis.Journal of clinical nursing · 2025Pooled it
- Contexts and mechanisms relevant to General Practitioner (GP) based interventions to reduce adverse drug events (ADE) in community dwelling older adults: a rapid realist review.HRB open research · 2022Pooled it
- Patients' and clinicians' perceptions of oral anticoagulants in atrial fibrillation: a systematic narrative review and meta-analysis.BMC family practice · 2021Pooled it
- "I must, and I can live with that": a thematic analysis of patients' perspectives on polypharmacy and a digital decision support system for GPs.BMC family practice · 2021Trial
- Assessment of patients' attitudes and actions toward Patient Information Leaflets in Jordan: A cross-sectional study.Farmaceuticos comunitarios · 2026Article
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- Perceptions of Medications and Supplements by U.S. Dog-Interested Members of the Public and Final-Year Veterinary Students.Journal of veterinary pharmacology and therapeutics · 2026Article
- Clinician perspectives on antithrombotic therapy management in advanced cancer: a multinational qualitative study.Research and practice in thrombosis and haemostasis · 2026Article
- Reframing Polypharmacy: Empowering Medical Students to Manage Medication Burden as a Chronic Condition.Clinics and practice · 2025Article
- A Quantitative Study Exploring and Comparing Key Factors in Medication Management in the Irish Healthcare Setting.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2025Article
- How do people with multimorbidity prioritise healthcare when faced with tighter financial constraints? A national survey with a choice experiment component.BMC primary care · 2025Article
- Deprescribing in older adults in a French community: a questionnaire study on patients' beliefs and attitudes.BMC geriatrics · 2024Article
- Polypharmacy, deprescribing, and trust in the clinician-patient relationship.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2024Article
- Attitudes and barriers towards deprescribing in older patients experiencing polypharmacy: a narrative review.npj aging · 2024Review
- Article
- Older Adults' Experiences With Participation and eHealth in Care Coordination: Qualitative Interview Study in a Primary Care Setting.Journal of participatory medicine · 2023Article
- Exploring the Multidimensional Relationship Between Medication Beliefs and Adherence to Medications Among Older Adults Living With Multimorbidity Using Polynomial Regression: An Observational Cohort Study.Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine · 2023Observational
- Psychotropic medication deprescribing in residential aged care facilities: An exploratory study of the knowledge and attitudes of family members of residents with dementia.Australasian journal on ageing · 2022Article
- Beliefs and attitudes of residents, family members and healthcare professionals regarding deprescribing in long-term care: a qualitative study.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2022Article
- Treatment Adherence in Patients with Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPolypharmacy (≥5 medications) is common in older patients and is associated with adverse outcomes. Patients' beliefs about medication can influence their expectations for medication, adherence, and willingness to deprescribe. Few studies have examined beliefs about prescribed medication among older patients with polypharmacy in primary care.
aimTo explore medication-related beliefs in older patients with polypharmacy and factors that might influence beliefs. DESIGN AND
settingA mixed methods study utilising data from a randomised controlled trial aiming to decrease potentially inappropriate prescribing in older patients (≥70 years) in Ireland.
methodBeliefs were assessed quantitatively and qualitatively. Participants completed the Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire by indicating their degree of agreement with individual statements about medicines on a 5-point Likert scale. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of participants. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and a thematic analysis conducted. Quantitative and qualitative data were analysed separately and triangulated during the interpretation stage.
resultsIn total, 196 patients were included (mean age 76.7 years, SD 4.9, 54% male), with a mean of 9.5 (SD 4.1) medications per patient. The majority (96.3%) believed strongly in the necessity of their medication, while 33.9% reported strong concerns. Qualitative data confirmed these coexisting positive and negative attitudes to medications and suggested the importance of patients' trust in GPs in establishing positive beliefs and potential willingness to deprescribe.
conclusionParticipants reported strong beliefs in medications with coexisting positive and negative attitudes. The doctor-patient relationship may have influenced beliefs and attitudes towards medicines, highlighting the importance of strong doctor-patient relationships, which need to be considered in the context of deprescribing.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.