The relationship between reduced prescribing practices and polypharmacy management strategies in geriatric patients from the perspective of Nigerian nurses: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

This cross-sectional study examined the relationship between reduced prescribing practices and polypharmacy management strategies in geriatric patients from the perspective of 152 Nigerian nurses. A validated, semi-structured questionnaire assessed strategies for managing elderly patients. Purposive sampling selected nurses at the University of Ilorin Teaching and Sobi Specialist Hospitals. The instrument's reliability was confirmed with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.70. Among 152 nurses (mean age 34.5 years), most were female (89%), with 37.7% aged 20–29 years. The most common highest qualification was a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) (45.9%), while 13.7% held postgraduate degrees. Equal proportions had <5 years (32.2%) and ≥15 years (32.2%) of experience. Most worked in tertiary hospitals (72.6%), compared with secondary facilities (23.3%). Nurses most often used regular medication reviews (Mean=4.64), patient/relative education on polypharmacy (Mean=4.60), interprofessional safety meetings (Mean=4.59), and physician collaboration (Mean=4.51). Medication review was significantly associated with perceived benefits of deprescribing, particularly identifying unnecessary drugs (97.3%), improving clinical outcomes (93.1%), and reducing drug–drug interactions (91.1%) (P<0.05). Gradual tapering was also significantly linked to fewer withdrawal symptoms and improved medication appropriateness (P<0.05). Therefore, these results underscore the importance of strengthening structured medication review processes, interprofessional collaboration, and guideline-informed deprescribing to enhance medication safety and quality of geriatric care in the study settings.