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Drug utilization in Belgian nursing homes: impact of residents' and institutional characteristics
Elseviers MM, Vander Stichele RR, Van Bortel L.. Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety, 2010-10-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Purpose This study aims to investigate drug utilization in Belgian nursing homes in relation to the characteristics of residents and the institution. Methods A cross-sectional study design was used. A total of 2510 residents were randomly selected from a stratified random sample of 76 Belgian nursing homes with at least 30 beds, including high-intensity care beds. Data collection was based on medical chart review supplemented with clinical information from general practitioners (GPs) Results The residents included had a mean age of 85 and 77% were female. They presented a median of 2 clinical problems (range 0-10), three care problems (range 0-10) and 48% had dementia. Their medical consumption amounted to a mean of 8.4 prescriptions including 7.1 for chronic treatment. Mean expenditure per month for chronic medication was 140 EUR (SD 125), including 53 EUR out-of-pocket payment.This study confirmed that multiple comorbidity was associated with polypharmacy. After peaking in the seventh decade, medical consumption decreased in older age groups. In palliative care, the number of prescriptions decreased while expenditure increased. A marked decrease in prescriptions, particularly of pain-relieving medication, was observed with increasing dementia. Larger public institutions, with an active coordinating physician and served by hospital pharmacists, had lower consumption and expenditure. Conclusion A high level of drug utilization, influenced by the characteristics of residents and the institution, was observed in Belgian nursing homes. There is a need to develop a comprehensive monitoring system of prescribing quality for nursing home residents.
Key findings
- Data collection was based on medical chart review supplemented with clinical information from general practitioners (GPs) Results The residents included had a mean age of 85 and 77% were female.
- Mean expenditure per month for chronic medication was 140 EUR (SD 125), including 53 EUR out-of-pocket payment.This study confirmed that multiple comorbidity was associated with polypharmacy.
Study details
- Study designcross-sectional
- Participants2,510
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 53/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a snapshot of people at one point in time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 31 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 53 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 4 / 12 | A snapshot of people at one point in time |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2010 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 2,510 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 20564427) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 31 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 31 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 53 out of 100. |
| Total | 53 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
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APA 7th
Elseviers, M. M., Vander Stichele, R. R., & Van Bortel, L. (2010). Drug utilization in Belgian nursing homes: impact of residents' and institutional characteristics. Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety. https://doi.org/10.1002/pds.1983
Vancouver
Elseviers MM, Vander Stichele RR, Van Bortel L. Drug utilization in Belgian nursing homes: impact of residents' and institutional characteristics. Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety. 2010. doi:10.1002/pds.1983. PMID: 20564427.
BibTeX
@article{elseviers2010-20564427,
author = {Elseviers, M. M. and Vander Stichele, R. R. and Van Bortel, L.},
title = {{Drug utilization in Belgian nursing homes: impact of residents' and institutional characteristics}},
journal = {Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety},
year = {2010},
doi = {10.1002/pds.1983},
pmid = {20564427},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/pds.1983}
}
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