People-centered care and patients' beliefs about medicines and adherence: A cross-sectional study.

Introduction: People-centered care (PCC) strategies are believed to improve overall health outcomes. Medicines use is essential for the treatment of many patients with chronic conditions. Non-adherence rates are high and result in poor health outcomes, and increased healthcare utilization and costs.

Efficacy, feasibility and acceptability of the OptiMEDs tool for multidisciplinary medication review in nursing homes.

Aim(s): Exploring efficacy, feasibility and acceptability of a complex multifaced intervention (OptiMEDs) supporting multidisciplinary medication reviews in Belgian nursing homes (NHs).

Methods: A pilot study in 2 intervention, 1 control NH was held, involving dementia and non-dementia NH residents (>65 years). OptiMEDs provided automated assessment of possible inappropriate medications (PIMs) and patient-specific nurse observation lists of potential side-effects.

Neuroimaging Biomarkers and Neurocognitive Outcomes in Pediatric Medulloblastoma Patients: a Systematic Review.

Medulloblastoma is a malign posterior fossa brain tumor, mostly occurring in childhood. The CNS-directed chemoradiotherapy treatment can be very harmful to the developing brain and functional outcomes of these patients. However, what the underlying neurotoxic mechanisms are remain inconclusive.

Reducing Psychotropic Drug Use in Nursing Homes in Belgium: An Implementation Study for the Roll-Out of a Practice Improvement Initiative.

Background And Objective: Psychotropic drug use is high in nursing homes in Belgium. A practice improvement initiative (including education, professional support and the transition towards person-centred care) achieved significant reductions in psychotropic drug use. The initiative outline was transcribed into a general intervention template, and consequently implemented in five nursing homes (in mixed locations and with a mixed character) in preparation for a future broader roll-out in Belgium.

European repository of explicit criteria of potentially inappropriate medications in old age.

Aim: Lack of electronic assessment of medication lists in electronic health records is a barrier for more generalized use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIM) lists, designed for older adults. The aim was to construct a European repository of explicit criteria on PIM, suitable for electronic assessment.

Methods: PIM description, medication information, clinical information and level of evidence was entered.

Medication use in a cohort of newly admitted nursing home residents (Ageing@NH) in relation to evolving physical and mental health.

Background: Medication use is high among nursing home (NH) residents, but there is a lack of longitudinal studies, determining medication use at admission and its evolution over time.

Aim: Describing the evolution of the medication use two years after entering a NH, compared to the baseline observations and exploring the relation to the physical and mental health.

Methods: Data from the observational prospective Ageing@NH study, based on an inception cohort of newly admitted residents at NHs (65+) was used, selecting those consenting and with medication chart available.

[A qualitative exploration of the chronic use of psychotropic drugs in nursing homes].

Background: Although guidelines put forward non-pharmacological therapies and advise against the chronic use of psychotropic drugs, these are still being prescribed regularly in Belgian nursing homes.

Goal: To explore the reasons for initiation, continuation and cessation of psychotropic drug treatment of elderly with dementia and behavioral problems, residing in the nursing home.

Method: Twenty-seven interviews from an earlier project were used, in which a semi-structured interview was conducted with the nursing staff, the physicians and the caretakers of eleven randomly selected residents from three nursing homes.

A quality improvement initiative on the use of psychotropic drugs in nursing homes in Flanders.

Introduction: Government-funded quality improvement projects aimed to reduce the high psychotropic medication use in Belgian long-term care settings.

Design: A pilot project (2013-2014) with a pre-post and follow-up intervention design.

Methods: Two nursing homes received three educational courses.

A Novel Scale Linking Potency and Dosage to Estimate Anticholinergic Exposure in Older Adults: the Muscarinic Acetylcholinergic Receptor ANTagonist Exposure Scale.

Quantification of the anticholinergic exposure insufficiently or imprecisely incorporates dosage information, leading to inaccurate estimations. The aim was to construct a novel scale, including potency and dosage for the quantification of the anticholinergic exposure in older adults. Potency information was retrieved from a previous systematic review.

Anticholinergic Exposure in a Cohort of Adults Aged 80 years and Over: Associations of the MARANTE Scale with Mortality and Hospitalization.

Anticholinergics are frequently prescribed for older adults and can lead to adverse drug events. The novel MARANTE (Muscarinic Acetylcholinergic Receptor ANTagonist Exposure) scale measures the anticholinergic exposure by incorporating potency and dosages of each medication into its calculations. The aims were to assess prevalence and intensity of the anticholinergic exposure in a longitudinal cohort study of community-dwelling patients aged 80 years and over (n = 503) and to study the impact on mortality and hospitalization.

Too many, too few, or too unsafe? Impact of inappropriate prescribing on mortality, and hospitalization in a cohort of community-dwelling oldest old.

Aims: Little is known about the impact of inappropriate prescribing (IP) in community-dwelling adults, aged 80 years and older. The prevalence at baseline (November 2008September 2009) and impact of IP (misuse and underuse) after 18 months on mortality and hospitalization in a cohort of community-dwelling adults, aged 80 years and older (n = 503) was studied.

Methods: Screening Tool of Older People's Prescriptions (STOPP-2, misuse) and Screening Tool to Alert to Right Treatment (START-2, underuse) criteria were cross-referenced and linked to the medication use (in Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical coding) and clinical problems.

Polypharmacy in a Belgian cohort of community-dwelling oldest old (80+).

Objectives: Polypharmacy is highly prevalent among older people (65+), but little is known on the medication use of the oldest old (80+). This study explores the medication use of the Belgian community-dwelling oldest old in relation to their demographic, clinical and functional characteristics.

Methods: Baseline data was used from the BELFRAIL study; a prospective, observational population-based cohort of Belgian community-dwelling patients (80+).

Mortality, hospitalisation, institutionalisation in community-dwelling oldest old: The impact of medication.

Background: High drug use and associated adverse outcomes are common in older adults. This study investigates association of medication use with mortality, hospitalisation, and institutionalisation in a cohort of community-dwelling oldest old (aged 80 and over).

Methods: Baseline data included socio-demographic, clinical, and functional characteristics, and prescribed medications.

The psychotropic education and knowledge test for nurses in nursing homes: striving for PEAK performance.

Objectives: The psychotropic education and knowledge test for nurses in acute geriatric care (PEAK-AC) measures knowledge of psychotropic indications, doses and adverse drug reactions in older inpatients. Given the low internal consistency and poor discrimination of certain items, this study aims to adapt the PEAK-AC, validate it in the nursing home setting and identify factors related to nurses' knowledge of psychotropics.

Method: This study included nurses and nurse assistants employed by nursing homes (n = 13) and nursing students at educational institutions (n = 5) in Belgium.