Shared polypharmacy decision-making in Orkney
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring polypharmacy treatment burden and shared decision-making in Orkney using Burden of Treatment Theory
IRAS ID
261721
Contact name
Aileen M Grant
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Robert Gordon University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
As a result of better healthcare there are more people living today with two or more long-term conditions. The work of managing health for people with long-term conditions and its impact on wellbeing is called burden of treatment. Examples of healthcare workload are: managing symptoms; taking prescription drugs; enduring side effects; interacting with healthcare professionals; making decisions about treatments and attending appointments. People with multiple long-term conditions are often prescribed multiple medications and this is termed polypharmacy. New guidelines on polypharmacy emphasise the importance of shared-decision making, which means that decisions about treatments are made jointly between a health professional and their patient. Research that explores the treatment burdens and shared decision making processes experienced by patients who are prescribed multiple medications is limited, particularly for those from more remote and rural places who may have different work (such as greater travel to attend hospital appointments) and resources (they may have closer social networks but health care practitioners are not so easily accessed) than those from more urban areas. In this study we aim to explore the work of being a patient managing 10 or more prescription drugs in people from remote and rural Orkney and the resources they use to help them manage. We intend to do this by asking them to complete a diary for one week and participate in an interview about their medication regimens which we expect to last approximately an hour.
REC name
East Midlands - Leicester South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/EM/0102
Date of REC Opinion
3 Apr 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion