Deprescribing - the structured process of stopping unnecessary, potentially harmful, or goal-discordant medications in a safe, effective, and patient-centered manner ? holds great promise for improving the health and well-being of older adults. Yet, research on deprescribing is fairly new, and much important work remains to be done. To address this gap, we propose to establish a deprescribing research network that will catalyze impactful research on deprescribing and build an interdisciplinary community of investigators working in this field. We will achieve this using 2 complementary approaches. First, we will establish a series of cores focused on Investigator Development, Stakeholder Engagement, Data and Resources, and Pilot and Exploratory Studies, and a Leadership and Administration Core that will oversee the full range of network activities. These cores will provide services and supports around learning, collaboration, investigator development, and pilot funding. These activities will enhance investigators' abilities to conduct high-quality, interdisciplinary, and stakeholder-informed research in deprescribing, and to compete successfully for future funding. Second, we will convene a series of special projects, organized into 4 Working Groups. These projects will use a combination of original research and consensus processes to develop new science and infrastructure in areas that are critical for advancing deprescribing research for older adults. Each of these activities will focus on older adults, particularly those with multiple chronic conditions and other sources of vulnerability, and the network will be firmly rooted in the principles of aging research and geriatrics. Consistent with the above goals, we have 6 specific aims. They are: (1) To develop a national community of investigators interested in deprescribing and to support mutual learning and opportunities for collaboration that will expand the quality, quantity, and translational impact of deprescribing research; (2) To create a coordinated network of research sites that will generate science, address logistical and safety challenges, and develop infrastructure to conduct clinical studies on deprescribing; (3) To develop and disseminate resources to help investigators overcome common challenges in deprescribing research and maximize the scientific validity and impact of scholarship in this area; (4) To support innovative pilot studies that address high-priority topics in deprescribing and will catalyze future investigator development and larger-scale projects; (5) To engage a broad range of stakeholders to maximize the relevance, sustainability, and dissemination potential of research on deprescribing; and (6) To disseminate the work and findings of the network to a broad range of external stakeholders and coordinate our efforts with other organizations and research networks.
Older adults often use unnecessary, potentially inappropriate, and goal-discordant medications, and efforts to improve deprescribing can improve health outcomes by reducing use of these medications. This proposal will establish the U.S. Deprescribing Research Network. This collaborative network will catalyze a range of research on deprescribing and search for solutions to improve the quality of pharmaceutical care and health outcomes for older adults.
