Hospital staff are a priority target group in the European COVID-19 vaccination strategy. Measuring the extent of COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy and understanding the reasons behind it are essential to be able to tailor effective communication campaigns. Using the Health Belief Model (HBM) as a theoretical framework, a survey was conducted among staff members of a Belgian three-site hospital center between 6 and 20 January 2021. Multivariable logistic ordinal regression was performed to assess determinants of the attitude towards COVID-19 vaccination. Reasons for and against COVID-19 vaccination and the need for information were explored among hesitant staff members. Among the respondents (N = 1132), 58% and 4.9% said that they would certainly and certainly not get vaccinated, respectively; 37.1% were hesitant, with different degrees of certainty. A positive attitude towards COVID-19 vaccination was associated with being older, being a physician, being vaccinated against seasonal flu, and with several HBM factors (including perceived benefits and cues to actions). Among hesitant staff, concerns about potential side effects and the impression that the vaccine was developed too quickly were the main reasons against COVID-19 vaccination. The key factors in the decision process were data on vaccine efficacy and safety, and knowing that vaccination went well in others. These data are helpful to further tailor the communication campaign and ensure sufficient vaccination coverage among hospital staff.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES To describe the use and deprescribing of benzodiazepine receptor agonists (BZRAs) among nursing home residents (NHRs), to evaluate appropriateness of use and to identify factors associated with BZRA use and deprescribing. DESIGN Posthoc analysis of the Collaborative Approach to Optimize Medication Use for Older People in Nursing Homes (COME‐ON) study, a cluster controlled trial that evaluated the impact of a complex intervention on potentially inappropriate prescriptions (PIPs) in nursing homes (NHs). SETTING A total of 54 NHs in Belgium. PARTICIPANTS A total of 797 NHRs included in the study who had complete medical, clinical, and medication information at baseline and at the end of the study (month 15). MEASUREMENTS Data were recorded by participating healthcare professionals. Reasons why BZRA use was considered as PIPs were assessed using the 2019 American Geriatrics Society Beers Criteria® and the Screening Tool of Older Persons’ Prescriptions (STOPP) criteria, version 2. Deprescribing included complete cessation or decreased daily dose. We identified factors at the NHR, prescriber, and NH levels associated with BZRA use and BZRA deprescribing using multivariable binary and multinomial logistic regression, respectively. RESULTS At baseline, 418 (52.4%) NHRs were taking a BZRA. The use of BZRA for longer than 4 weeks, with two or more other central nervous system active drugs, and in patients with delirium, cognitive impairment, falls, or fractures was found in more than 67% of BZRA users. Eight NHR‐related variables and two prescriber‐related variables were associated with regular BZRA use. Deprescribing occurred in 28.1% of BZRA users (32.9% in the intervention group and 22.1% in the control group). In addition to four other factors, dementia (odds ratio [OR] = 2.35; 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.45–3.83]) and intervention group (OR = 1.74; 95% CI = 1.07–2.87) were associated with deprescribing. CONCLUSION Use of BZRAs was highly prevalent, and reasons to consider it as PIP were frequent. Deprescribing occurred in one‐fourth of NHRs, which is encouraging. Future interventions should focus on specific aspects of PIPs (ie, indication, duration, drug‐drug and drug‐disease interactions) as well as on nondementia patients.

Background Many strategies aimed at deprescribing benzodiazepine receptor agonists (BZRA) in older adults have already been evaluated with various success rates. There is so far no consensus on which strategy components increase deprescribing the most. Yet, despite an unfavourable benefit-to-risk ratio, BZRA use among older adults remains high. We systematically reviewed barriers and enablers for BZRA deprescribing in older adults. Methods Two reviewers independently screened records identified from five electronic databases—Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL and the Cochrane library—and published before October 2020. They searched for grey literature using Google Scholar. Qualitative and quantitative records reporting data on the attitudes of older adults, caregivers and healthcare providers towards BZRA deprescribing were included. Populations at the end of life or with specific psychiatric illness, except for dementia, were excluded. The two reviewers independently assessed the quality of the included studies using the mixed-methods appraisal tool. Barriers and enablers were identified and then coded into domains of the theoretical domains framework (TDF) using a combination of deductive and inductive qualitative analysis. The most relevant TDF domains for BZRA deprescribing were then identified. Results Twenty-three studies were included 13 quantitative, 8 qualitative and 2 mixed-method studies. The points of view of older adults, general practitioners and nurses were reported in 19, 9 and 3 records, respectively. We identified barriers and enablers in the majority of TDF domains and in two additional themes: “patient characteristics” and “BZRA prescribing patterns”. Overall, the most relevant TDF domains were “beliefs about capabilities”, “beliefs about consequences”, “environmental context and resources”, “intention”, “goals”, “social influences”, “memory, attention and decision processes”. Perceived barriers and enablers within domains differed across settings and across stakeholders. Conclusion The relevant TDF domains we identified can now be linked to behavioural change techniques to help in the design of future strategies and health policies. Future studies should also assess barriers and enablers perceived by under-evaluated stakeholders (such as pharmacists, psychiatrists and health care professionals in the hospital setting). Trial registration This work was registered on PROSPERO under the title “Barriers and enablers to benzodiazepine receptor agonists deprescribing”. Registration number: CRD42020213035

Purpose Polypharmacy, medication errors and adverse drug events are frequent among nursing home residents. Errors can occur at any step of the medication use process. We aimed to review interventions aiming at optimization of any step of medication use in nursing homes. Methods We narratively reviewed quantitative as well as qualitative studies, observational and experimental studies that described interventions, their effects as well as barriers and enablers to implementation. We prioritized recent studies with relevant findings for the European setting. Results Many interventions led to improvements in medication use. However, because of outcome heterogeneity, comparison between interventions was difficult. Prescribing was the most studied aspect of medication use. At the micro-level, medication review, multidisciplinary work, and more recently, patient-centered care components dominated. At the macro-level, guidelines and legislation, mainly for specific medication classes (e.g., antipsychotics) were employed. Utilization of technology also helped improve medication administration. Several barriers and enablers were reported, at individual, organizational, and system levels. Conclusion Overall, existing interventions are effective in optimizing medication use. However there is a need for further European well-designed and large-scale evaluations of under-researched intervention components (e.g., health information technology, patient-centered approaches), specific medication classes (e.g., antithrombotic agents), and interventions targeting medication use aspects other than prescribing (e.g., monitoring). Further development and uptake of core outcome sets is required. Finally, qualitative studies on barriers and enablers for intervention implementation would enable theory-driven intervention design.

Background as a result of the high prevalence of polypharmacy in nursing homes (NHs), nursing home residents (NHRs) are exposed to numerous drug–drug interactions (DDIs) that can lead to adverse drug effects, and increased morbidity and mortality. Objectives to evaluate (i) the prevalence of DDIs among NHRs and its evolution over time, and (ii) factors associated with a favourable evolution. Design posthoc analysis of the COME-ON study, a cluster-randomised controlled trial aiming at reducing potentially inappropriate prescriptions in NHs, through the implementation of a complex intervention. Setting and subjects 901 NHRs from 54 Belgian NHs. Methods DDIs were identified using a validated list of 66 potentially clinically relevant DDIs in older adults. We defined a favourable evolution at 15 months as the resolution of at least one DDI present at baseline, without the introduction of any new DDI. Factors associated with a favourable evolution were analysed using multivariable logistic regression. Results at baseline, 475 NHRs (52.7%) were exposed to at least 1 DDI and 225 NHRs (25.0%) to more than one DDI. Most common DDI was ‘Concomitant use of at least three central nervous system active drugs’. At 15 months, we observed a 6.3% absolute decrease in DDI prevalence in intervention group, and a 1.0% absolute increase in control group. The intervention, older age and private NH ownership were significantly associated with a favourable DDI evolution. Conclusion a high prevalence of DDI in Belgian NHs was observed, but the COME-ON intervention was associated with a favourable evolution over time.