Contexts associated with positive outcomes
| Outcomes | ||||
| Contexts | Successful deprescribing (n=7) | Failed deprescribing (n=7) | No attempt to deprescribe (n=7) | Supporting citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Previous support from physician/positive attitude towards discontinuation | 5 (71%) | 4 (57%) | 1 (14%) | ‘He (my doctor) told me the drug was not good for me and that I could experience side effects while taking it’. (72-year-old man, successful taper) |
| Stable health status | 5 (71%) | 4 (57%) | 2 (29%) | ‘I don’t have as much pain as I used to. It’s now under control so it was easier for me to stop. Before—no way’. (68-year-old woman, successful taper) |
| Certainty and confidence about tapering (postintervention) | 6 (86%) | 4 (57%) | 1 (14%) | ‘I persuaded myself that I needed to get rid of this, no matter what’. (84-year-old man, successful taper) |
| Perception of increased risk | 6 (86%) | 5 (71%) | 1 (14%) | ‘My physician told me it (the drugs) could cost me my memory. My memory has become very important to me’. (79-year-old man, successful taper) |
| Lack of psychological attachment | 5 (71%) | 3 (43%) | 1 (14%) | ‘I understood I could stop taking it (after I read the brochure), that it was not an obligation (to take it)’. (72-year-old woman, successful taper) |
| Positive outlook on ageing | 3 (43%) | 1 (14%) | 0 | ‘At my age I don’t believe in miracles such as being able to sleep for 8, 9 or 10 hours each night. It would be impossible for me, so I content myself with the hours of sleep I get’. (84-year-old man, successful taper) |
| Tapering tool provides support | 5 (71%) | 3 (43%) | 0 | ‘In the past I tried to stop the pill all at once. But using the tapering tool, I understood that it need to be a gradual and not a drastic process’. (84-year-old man, successful taper) |
| Supportive healthcare provider | 3 (43%) | 2 (29%) | 0 | ‘When I told my doctor I wanted to stop, he said, ‘no problem, let’s do it’. (87-year-old woman, successful taper) |