Are Saudi Arabian Patients Willing to Be Deprescribed Their Medications? An Exploratory Study

Deprescribing is a complex process that requires active patient involvement, so the patient's attitude to deprescribing is crucial to its success. This study aimed to assess predictors of Saudi Arabian patients' willingness to deprescribe.

In this cross-sectional study, adult patients from two hospitals in Riyadh completed a self-administered questionnaire gathering data on demographic information and the Arabic revised Patients' Attitudes Towards Deprescribing (rPATD) questions. Descriptive analysis and binary logistic regression were used to analyze the data.

A total of 242 patients were included (mean age 59.8 (SD 11.05) years, range 25-87 years; 40% 60-69 years; 54.1% female). The majority (90%) of participants were willing to have medications deprescribed. Willingness to deprescribe was significantly associated with the rPATD involvement factor (OR=1.866, 95% CI 1.177-2.958, p=0.008) and the patient's perception of their health status (OR=2.08, CI=1.058-4.119, p=0.034).

The majority of patients were willing to have one or more medications deprescribed if recommended by their doctors. Patient perceptions about their own health and their involvement in deprescribing were important predictive factors that could shape counseling and education strategies to encourage deprescribing.