2.2 Research questions
To understand the extent and nature of previous gabapentinoid
deprescribing interventions we developed six research questions around
the intervention, outcomes and barriers, including:
- What interventions have
previously been tested to deprescribe gabapentinoids?
- Describe gabapentinoid deprescribing interventions including the
type of study designs, interventional arms, target populations (e.g.
clinician, patient), setting (i.e. primary, secondary, tertiary),
categorise the types of interventions (e.g. pharmacological,
physiological, psychological, policy), and implementation process.
- Were previous gabapentinoid deprescribing interventions successful in:
- Reducing a patient’s gabapentinoid dose,
- Increasing the number or proportion of participants who ceased their
gabapentinoid, and/or
- Changing the rates of gabapentinoid prescribing?
- Did patient outcomes improve after deprescribing (e.g. pain levels,
quality of life) and did patients need support throughout the
deprescribing process (e.g. counselling)?
- What proportion of participants experienced adverse events? What
withdrawal symptoms were experienced and how were these managed?
- Were there barriers reported to the deprescribing of gabapentinoids?
- What was the most effective strategy for deprescribing gabapentinoids?