Evidence mapPaperPMID 40167136Full record

ArticlePalliative medicine2025

'Do I actually even need all these tablets?' A qualitative study exploring deprescribing decision-making for people in receipt of palliative care and their family members.

Anna Robinson-Barella, Charlotte Lucy Richardson, Zana Bayley, Andy Husband, Rona Bojke, Andy Bojke, Rachel Quibell, Lisa Baker, Emma McDougall, Catherine Exley and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Palliative medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Review
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Anna Robinson-BarellaSchool of Pharmacy, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-9523-4760
Charlotte Lucy RichardsonSchool of Pharmacy, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Zana BayleySchool of Pharmacy, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-7890-8682
Andy HusbandSchool of Pharmacy, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Rona BojkePatient and Public Involvement, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Andy BojkePatient and Public Involvement, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Rachel QuibellThe Newcastle Hospitals Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Lisa BakerSt. Benedict's Hospice, St. Benedict's way, Ryhope, Sunderland, UK.
Emma McDougallNorthumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-5003-889X
Catherine ExleyPopulation Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Barbara HanrattyNewcastle Patient Safety Research Collaborative PSRC, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Joanna ElversonSt. Oswald's Hospice, Regent Avenue, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Jesse JansenFaculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Adam ToddSchool of Pharmacy, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFor people in receipt of palliative care, where polypharmacy is common and medication burden is high, there remains limited knowledge around the decision-making processes that underpin deprescribing; for example, recent deprescribing studies have focused on wider issues of identifying polypharmacy in palliative care contexts. However, little is known about the specific challenges of, and preferences towards, decision-making to support the deprescribing for people in receipt of palliative care.

aimTo explore decision-making processes that underpin deprescribing approaches, based on the experiences of people in receipt of palliative care, and their family member(s).

designAn explorative qualitative study involving in-person semi-structured interviews, analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. SETTING/

participantsTwenty-five semi-structured interviews were conducted with people in receipt of palliative care (

resultsTwo overarching themes were developed - the first reflected the need to address patient understanding by 'laying the foundations of deprescribing decision-making'. The second theme, 'having a voice in deprescribing decision-making', reflected desires to (pro)-actively involve patients and their family member(s) within these processes.

conclusionThere is a need to take a balanced, person-centred and shared approach to deprescribing decision-making for people receiving palliative care. Co-design strategies offer one approach to further explore this.

Indexed as

Decision MakingDeprescriptionsFamilyPalliative CarePolypharmacyAdultAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHumansInterviews as TopicMaleMiddle AgedQualitative ResearchDeprescriptionsmedication reviewpalliative carequalitative research

Identifiers

PMID40167136
PMCPMC12033382

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.