Effects of a geriatric intervention aiming to improve quality care in nursing homes on benzodiazepine use and discontinuation

Polypharmacy and potentially inappropriate prescribing of benzodiazepines in older nursing home residents

INTRODUCTION

Previous research has raised concerns about high prevalence of drug-related problems, polypharmacy and inappropriate benzodiazepine prescribing in nursing homes (NHs) and confirmed lack of studies from Central and South-Eastern Europe. The aim of our study was to determine the prevalence and characteristics of polypharmacy, hyperpolypharmacy and inappropriate benzodiazepine prescribing in NH residents in Croatia.

METHODS

Data from 226 older NH residents from five Croatian NHs were collected using the InterRAI Long-Term Care Facilities assessment form. The prevalence and determinants of polypharmacy/hyperpolypharmacy and patterns of inappropriate benzodiazepine prescribing were documented.

RESULTS

The prevalence of polypharmacy (49.6%) and hyperpolypharmacy (25.7%) among NH residents was high. In our study, 72.1% of NH residents were prescribed at least one psychotropic agent, 36.7% used 2-3 psychotropics and 6.6% used 4+ psychotropics. Among benzodiazepine users (55.8%), 28% of residents were prescribed benzodiazepines in higher than recommended geriatric doses, 75% used them for the long term and 48% were prescribed concomitant interacting medications. The odds of being prescribed polypharmacy/hyperpolypharmacy were significantly higher for older patients with polymorbidity (6+ disorders, proportional odds ratio (POR) = 19.8), type II diabetes (POR = 5.2), ischemic heart disease (POR = 4.6), higher frailty (Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS ≥5); POR = 4.3) and gastrointestinal problems (POR = 4.8).

CONCLUSIONS

Our research underscores the persistent challenge of inappropriate medication use and drug-related harms among older NH residents, despite existing evidence and professional campaigns. Effective regulatory and policy interventions, including the implementation of geriatrician and clinical pharmacy services, are essential to address this critical issue and ensure optimal medication management for vulnerable NH populations.

Impact of medication reviews on drug-related problems (DRPs) in older patients living in nursing homes in West Occitania

Despite several guidelines for preventing potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) use in older, their prescription rates remain high (25%). The aim of this study was to determine the impact of medication reviews (MRs) on the drug-related problems (DRPs) in older patients in Elderly Residential Care Homes (nursing homes [NHs]). DRP was defined as an event or circumstance involving drug therapy that actually or potentially interferes with desired health outcomes. We conducted a retrospective study on 2819 residents of the 46 NHs between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2018. Drug prescription was analysed according to European EU(7)-PIM list and START/STOPP list. We then linked each PIM to an appropriate type of DRP. Three months later, we requested the 'updated' drug prescriptions to assess whether the recommendations had been followed. A total of 17 850 prescription lines were registered. A DRP was identified for 25% of them. Following the second request, 13 NHs (28%) responded. About 26% (n = 1188) of the overall prescriptions lines identified as a DRP involved these 13 NHs, which resulted in a recommendation being made during the first MR. Data from the second MR suggested that 53.9% (n = 640) of recommendations were followed with the requested change: 32.0% involved drug withdrawal (n = 381), 9.7% concerned dose adjustment (n = 115) and 6.5% required drug changes (n = 77). Our results show the benefit impact of MR on the quality of drug prescription in older NH residents. MRs should be one of the tools used to improve drug prescriptions in the elderly.

Barriers and enablers for deprescribing benzodiazepine receptor agonists in older adults: a systematic review of qualitative and quantitative studies using the theoretical domains framework

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

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13012-022-01206-7.

Geriatric Depression and Inappropriate Medication: Benefits of Interprofessional Team Cooperation in Nursing Homes

An investigation of inappropriate medication use in treatment of depressivity in institutionalized older adults, based on a nurse-led evaluation of functional status and depressive symptoms in nursing home residents. Methods: A cross-sectional multicenter study was performed using records from 1087 residents cared for in fifteen nursing homes (NHs) in the Czech Republic. Inclusion criteria were being a permanent resident of one of the facilities, being 60 years of age or older, having a Geriatric Depression Scale score of 6 or more, and having a Mini Mental State examination score 10 or more. The final sample for analysis included 317 depressed NH residents. Results: 52 percent of NH residents with depressivity had no antidepressant treatment. Benzodiazepines were the only medication in 16 percent of depressed residents, and were added to antidepressant treatment in 18 percent of residents. Benzodiazepine users had significantly higher GDS scores compared to non-users (p = 0.007). Conclusion: More than half of depressed NH residents remained without antidepressant treatment. Residents inappropriately treated with benzodiazepines were more depressed than residents treated with antidepressants only, or even not treated at all. Cooperation of the interprofessional team in the screening of depressive symptoms has the potential to improve the quality of care.

Models of provider care in long-term care: A rapid scoping review

INTRODUCTION

One of the current challenges in long-term care homes (LTCH) is to identify the optimal model of care, which may include specialty physicians, nursing staff, person support workers, among others. There is currently no consensus on the complement or scope of care delivered by these providers, nor is there a repository of studies that evaluate the various models of care. We conducted a rapid scoping review to identify and map what care provider models and interventions in LTCH have been evaluated to improve quality of life, quality of care, and health outcomes of residents.

METHODS

We conducted this review over 10-weeks of English language, peer-reviewed studies published from 2010 onward. Search strategies for databases (e.g., MEDLINE) were run on July 9, 2020. Studies that evaluated models of provider care (e.g., direct patient care), or interventions delivered to facility, staff, and residents of LTCH were included. Study selection was performed independently, in duplicate. Mapping was performed by two reviewers, and data were extracted by one reviewer, with partial verification by a second reviewer.

RESULTS

A total of 7,574 citations were screened based on the title/abstract, 836 were reviewed at full text, and 366 studies were included. Studies were classified according to two main categories: healthcare service delivery (n = 92) and implementation strategies (n = 274). The condition/ focus of the intervention was used to further classify the interventions into subcategories. The complex nature of the interventions may have led to a study being classified in more than one category/subcategory.

CONCLUSION

Many healthcare service interventions have been evaluated in the literature in the last decade. Well represented interventions (e.g., dementia care, exercise/mobility, optimal/appropriate medication) may present opportunities for future systematic reviews. Areas with less research (e.g., hearing care, vision care, foot care) have the potential to have an impact on balance, falls, subsequent acute care hospitalization.

Interventions to optimize medication use in nursing homes: a narrative review

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.

The prevalence and prescribing patterns of benzodiazepines and Z-drugs in older nursing home residents in different European countries and Israel: retrospective results from the EU SHELTER study

Background

Benzodiazepines (BZDs) and Z-drugs have high potential for developing frequent adverse drug events in older adults (e.g., psychomotor sedation, drug-related dementia, deliria, drug dependence, etc.). Knowledge of the prevalence and patterns of the use of BZDs/Z-drugs in vulnerable older patients is important in order to prevent and reduce the burden caused by their drug-related complications. Our study focused on international comparisons of the prevalence, country-specific prescribing patterns and risk factors of regular BZD/Z-drug use in nursing home (NH) residents.

Methods

This cross-sectional study retrospectively analysed data of 4156 NH residents, prospectively assessed in the Services and Health in the Elderly in Long TERm care (SHELTER) project conducted from 2009 to 2014. Residents aged 65+ in 57 NHs in 7 European countries and Israel were assessed by the InterRAI Long-Term Care Facilities instrument. Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression models were used to describe the country-specific prevalence, patterns and risk factors of BZD/Z-drug use.

Results

The mean age of the participants was 83.4 ± 9.4 years, 73% were female and 27.7% used BZDs/Z-drugs. The prevalence of BZD/Z-drug use differed significantly across countries, ranging from 44.1% in Israel to 14.5% in Germany. The most frequently prescribed were zopiclone (17.8%), lorazepam (17.1%) and oxazepam (16.3%). Lorazepam, oxazepam and diazepam were used in most of the countries. Brotizolam, temazepam and zolpidem showed highest prevalence in Israel (99.4% of all regular users of this medication in the sample), the Netherlands (72.6%) and France (50.0%), respectively. Residing in Israel was the most significant factor associated with the use of BZDs/Z-drugs or BZDs only (odds ratio [OR] 6.7; 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.8–9.2 and OR 9.7, 95%CI 6.5–14.5, respectively). The use of Z-drugs only was most significantly associated with residing in France (OR 21.0, 95%CI 9.0–48.9).

Conclusions

Despite global recommendations and warnings, the preference for and extent of use of individual BZDs and Z-drugs in vulnerable NH residents differ significantly across countries. The strong association with country of residence compared to clinical and functional factors denotes that prescribing habits, social, cultural, behavioural, and regulatory factors still play an important role in the current diverse use of these medications.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12877-021-02213-x.

Benzodiazepine Use and Deprescribing in Belgian Nursing Homes: Results from the COME-ON Study

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.

Long-term risk of hip or forearm fractures in older occasional users of benzodiazepines

AIMS

This article sought to study the association between patterns of benzodiazepine (BZD) use and the risk of hip and forearm fractures in people aged 50 and 75 years or more.

METHODS

In a representative cohort of the French National Health Insurance Fund of individuals aged 50 years or older (n = 106 437), we followed up BZD dispensing (reflecting their patterns of use) and the most frequent fall-related fractures (hip and forearm) for 8 years. We used joint latent class models to simultaneously identify BZD dispensing trajectories and the risk of fractures in the entire cohort and in those 75 years or older). We used a survival model to estimate the adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) between these trajectories and the risk of fractures.

RESULTS

In the entire cohort, we identified 5 BZD trajectories: non-users (76.7% of the cohort); occasional users (15.2%); decreasing users (2.6%); late increasing users (3.0%); and early increasing users (2.4%). Compared with non-users, fracture risk was not increased in either occasional users (aHR = 0.99, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.99-1.00) or in decreasing users (aHR = 0.90, 95% CI 0.74-1.08). It was significantly higher in early increasing users (aHR = 1.86, 95% CI 1.62-2.14) and in late increasing users (aHR = 1.39, 95% CI 1.15-1.60). We observed similar trajectories and risk levels in the people older than 75 years.

CONCLUSION

Occasional BZD use, which is compatible with current recommendations, was not associated with an excess risk of the most frequent fall-related fractures in people older than 50 or 75 years.

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. The impact of the intervention on the use of psychotropic drugs in these five nursing homes is reported in this paper.

METHODS

The general intervention template was fitted into the individual nursing home setting. Education for the nursing home personnel on psychotropic drugs and non-pharmacological alternatives, as well as details for a transition to person-centred care was provided. Psychotropic drug use was recorded using a dynamic cohort study design with cross-sectional observations (November 2016-November 2017).

RESULTS

At baseline, participants' (n = 677) mean age was 85.6 years (range 54-109 years), with 72.6% female. Mean medication intake was 8.5 (range 1-22), predominantly central nervous system drugs (Anatomic Therapeutic Chemical classification N, 88.8%). Long-term (> 3 months) psychotropic drug use (62.0%) and concomitant psychotropic drug use (31.5% taking two or more medications) were high. After 12 months, the prevalence of long-term psychotropic drug use decreased significantly (from 62.0 to 52.9%, p < 0.001), likewise the combined use of psychotropic drugs (from 31.5 to 24.0%, p = 0.001). The decrease in the prevalence of antidepressant and hypnosedative use was significant (respectively, from 32.2 to 23.4%, p < 0.001, and from 35.3 to 28.7%, p = 0.006) in contrast to antipsychotic use (from 17.1 to 15.9%, p = 0.522).

CONCLUSIONS

The stand-alone adaptation of the previously reported initiative using a general template was possible. This intervention resulted in a significant decrease in psychotropic drug use (predominantly hypnosedatives and antidepressants) among nursing home residents after 12 months.

Effect of an Educational and Organizational Intervention on Pain in Nursing Home Residents: A Nonrandomized Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVES

To determine whether an intervention based on education and professional support to nursing home (NH) staff would decrease the number of residents with a pain complaint, and to determine whether the intervention would improve pain management.

DESIGN

Nonrandomized controlled trial. NHs were nonrandomly allocated either to a strong intervention group consisting in audit, feedback, and collaborative work on quality indicators with a hospital geriatrician, or to a light intervention group (LIG) consisting in audit and feedback only.

SETTING

One hundred fifty-nine NHs located in France.

PARTICIPANTS

A subgroup of 3722 residents.

MEASURES

Information on pain complaint and pain-related covariates at the resident-related and at the NH level were recorded by NH staff at baseline and 18 months later. These covariates were included in a mixed-effects logistic regression on resident's pain complaint. Pain management was compared between intervention groups by chi-square tests.

RESULTS

A greater reduction of residents with a pain complaint after the strong intervention (odds ratio 0.69, 95% confidence interval 0.53, 0.90) and a better pain management (47.6% gold standard, vs 30.6% in the LIG, P < .001) than controls.

CONCLUSION/IMPLICATIONS

Combining educational and organizational measures, evaluating pain as a patient-reported outcome and as a process endpoint, and implementing a broad-spectrum intervention were original approaches to improve quality of care in NHs. Our results support nonspecific, collaborative, educational, and organizational interventions in NHs to decrease residents' pain complaint and improve pain management.

End-Users and Caregivers' Involvement in Health Interventional Research Carried Out in Geriatric Facilities: A Systematic Review

Public involvement (PI) is of great interest. However, little is known about this topic in the design, development, and/or implementation of health interventions in geriatric facilities. This study aimed to provide a critical overview of the involvement of caregivers and end-users in interventions in these facilities, based on Rifkin’s analytical framework. This systematic review, supplemented by a questionnaire to the corresponding authors, covered non-drug intervention reports targeting nurses, doctors, residents, and their relatives. Articles were published in Pubmed, Medline, Scopus, and Cinahl, from January 2016 to April 2018. Ninety-seven articles were included. The review shows a low level or partial PI in geriatric facilities where it exists. These results are further supported by the authors’ responses to the questionnaire. PI remains uncommon in geriatric institutions and consists of a consumerist model, suggesting the need for improved practices. More efforts are needed to experiment with recommendations to meet the challenges of PI and enhance the public ownership of interventions. The protocol was registered on Prospero under the number CRD42018098504.

Reducing potentially inappropriate drug prescribing in nursing home residents: effectiveness of a geriatric intervention

AIMS

Potentially inappropriate drug prescribing (PIDP) is frequent in nursing home (NH) residents. We aimed to investigate whether a geriatric intervention on quality of care reduced PIDP.

METHODS

We performed an ancillary study within a multicentric individually-tailored controlled trial (IQUARE trial). All NH received a baseline and 18-month audit regarding drug prescriptions and other quality of care indicators. After the initial audit, NHs of the intervention group benefited of an in-site intervention (geriatric education for NH staff) provided by a geriatrician from the closest hospital. The analysis included 629 residents of 159 NHs. The main outcome was PIDP, defined as the presence of at least one of the following criteria: (i) drug with an unfavourable benefit-to-risk ratio; (ii) with questionable efficacy; (iii) absolute contraindication; (iv) significant drug-drug interaction. Multivariable multilevel logistic regression models were performed including residents and NH factors as confounders.

RESULTS

PIDP was 65.2% (-3.6% from baseline) in the intervention group (n = 339) and 69.9% (-2.3%) in the control group (n = 290). The intervention significantly decreased PIDP [odds ratio (OR) = 0.63; 95% confidence interval 0.40-0.99], as a special care unit in NH (OR = 0.60; (0.42 to 0.85)), and a fall in the last 12 months (OR = 0.63; 0.44-0.90). Charlson Comorbidity Index [ORCCI = 1 vs. 0  = 1.38; 0.87-2.19, ORCCI ≥ 2 vs. 0  = 2.01; (1.31-3.08)] and psychiatric advice and/or hospitalization in a psychiatric unit (OR = 1.53; 1.07-2.18) increased the likelihood of PIDP.

CONCLUSION

This intervention based on a global geriatric education resulted in a significant reduction of PIDP at patient level.

Age, Sex, and Dose Effects of Nonbenzodiazepine Hypnotics on Hip Fracture in Nursing Home Residents

OBJECTIVE

The Food and Drug Administration recommends a reduced dose of nonbenzodiazepine hypnotics in women, yet little is known about the age-, sex-, and dose-specific effects of these drugs on risk of hip fracture, especially among nursing home (NH) residents. We estimated the age-, sex-, and dose-specific effects of nonbenzodiazepine hypnotics on the rate of hip fracture among NH residents.

DESIGN AND SETTING

Case-crossover study in US NHs.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 691 women and 179 men with hip fracture sampled from all US long-stay NH residents.

MEASUREMENTS

Measures of patient characteristics were obtained from linked Medicare and the Minimum Data Set (2007-2008). The outcome was hospitalization for hip fracture with surgical repair. We estimated rate ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) from conditional logistic regression models for nonbenzodiazepine hypnotics (vs nonuse) comparing 0 to 29 days before hip fracture (hazard period) with 60 to 89 and 120 to 149 days before hip fracture (control periods). We stratified analyses by age, sex, and dose.

RESULTS

The average RR of hip fracture was 1.7 (95% CI 1.5-1.9) for any use. The RR of hip fracture was higher for residents aged ≥90 years vs <70 years (2.2 vs 1.3); however, the CIs overlapped. No differences in the effect of the hypnotic on risk of hip fracture were evident by sex. Point estimates for hip fracture were greater with high-dose versus low-dose hypnotics (RR 1.9 vs 1.6 for any use), but these differences were highly compatible with chance.

CONCLUSIONS

The rate of hip fracture in NH residents due to use of nonbenzodiazepine hypnotics was greater among older patients than among younger patients and, possibly, with higher doses than with lower doses. When clinicians are prescribing a nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic to any NH resident, doses of these drugs should be kept as low as possible, especially among those with advanced age.

Effects of a geriatric intervention aiming to improve quality care in nursing homes on benzodiazepine use and discontinuation

BACKGROUND

Benzodiazepines and "Z drugs" are often prescribed in residents of nursing homes (NH) despite their well-known deleterious effects. We aimed to investigate if a general intervention on quality of care led to discontinuation of benzodiazepine, and to examine which NH-related factors were associated in change of benzodiazepines use.

METHODS

IQUARE is a quasi-experimental study, investigating the impact of an intervention based on a geriatric education with NH staff on several quality indicators of care (including appropriate prescriptions). All participating NH received an initial and 18-month audit regarding drug prescriptions and other quality of care variables. The analysis included 3973 residents, 2151 subjects (mean age: 84.6 ± 8.5 years; 74.3% women) in the control group and 1822 (mean age: 85.5 ± 8.1 years; 77.4% women) in the intervention group. Outcomes at 18 months were benzodiazepines use, long-acting benzodiazepines use, new-use of benzodiazepines, and discontinuation. The effect of the intervention was investigated using mixed-effect logistic regression models, including NH variables and residents' health status as confounders.

RESULTS

Higher reductions in benzodiazepine use (-2.8% vs. -1.5%) and long-acting benzodiazepine (-3.7% vs. -3.5%) were observed in intervention group, but not statistically significant. None of the structural and organisational NH-related variables predicted either discontinuation or new-use of benzodiazepines; hospitalisations and initial use of meprobamate increased the likelihood of becoming a new-user of benzodiazepines. Multivariate analysis suggested that living in a particular NH could affect benzodiazepines discontinuation.

CONCLUSIONS

A general intervention designed to improve overall NH quality indicators did not succeed in reducing benzodiazepines use. External factors interfered with the intervention. Further studies are needed to examine which NH-related aspects could impact benzodiazepines discontinuation.