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Assessment of polypharmacy in Scotland: a population-based retrospective study

Project reference: RAS-24-98

Approval date: 30 January 2025

Lead organisation

Principal Investigator

University of Strathclyde Amanj Kurdi

 

Lay summary

This project will highlight the concerning issue of polypharmacy (PP), which means using five or more medications among aging populations and its implications. PP can lead to negative outcomes such as adverse drug reactions, hospitalisation, and death.

Studies in various countries, including Scotland, have shown presence and growth of PP. Currently, there are noted gaps in updated research on PP in Scotland (prevalence and incidence), and lack of prevalence stratification across different sociodemographic characteristics and subgroups. Also, there is a lack of information regarding the effect of decreasing PP on clinical outcomes as well as the origin and sources of PP. These gaps are signalling a need for new research to understand current trends.

The main aim of the project is to evaluate PP in Scotland; its prevalence and incidence (stratified by age, gender, and level of deprivation), the effect of its minimisation, and to detect signals of prescribing cascade as a source of PP.

Public benefit statement

The project underwent multiple reviews by the supervisory team at the University of Strathclyde, which includes experienced pharmacists, Prof Amanj Kurdi and Dr Tanja Mueller. Additionally, the project was independently reviewed several times by Dr Natalie Weir (a pharmacist and researcher also affiliated with the University of Strathclyde) in her capacity as the internal assessor for this PhD project.

Due to the significant correlation between polypharmacy and adverse health effects, continuous growing population of elderly individuals, and the noticeable knowledge gaps regarding polypharmacy statistics in Scotland, this proposal will benefit the public in many aspects:

  1. Enhance the understanding of polypharmacy (using multiple medications) by providing an updated statistics and knowledge regarding prevalence and incidence of polypharmacy across Scotland. This will provide better understanding of the national trends of polypharmacy across Scotland in health and social care needs.
  2. Providing a socio-demographic insight for more patient-centred care by investigating variation in the trends of polypharmacy across different demographic groups and characteristics which can reveal important disparities in medication use. This can lead to better understanding of health and healthcare need and provide more patient-oriented healthcare approach that consider unique needs and risks of different population groups.
  3. Increase the awareness by policy and healthcare planning regarding the need for targeted interventions to manage polypharmacy effectively and safely, especially among populations with multiple medical conditions.
  4. Shedding light on the importance of decreasing the number of potentially inappropriate medications and the medications that were resulted from prescribing cascade as a potential and promising intervention to reduce harmful polypharmacy. therefore, reducing healthcare costs. 

The findings of this research will be disseminated through presentations/posters at conferences, publication in peer-reviewed journals, and the preparation of a policy brief to be shared with the Scottish Government via connections with the Effective Prescribing and Therapeutics Division.

Datasets used

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