The revised Patients' Attitudes Towards Deprescribing (rPATD) questionnaire explores older adults' views on deprescribing in general. Those views may differ, however, when the target is a specific drug such as benzodiazepine receptor agonists (BZRA).
This study aimed to adapt the 22-item French rPATD questionnaire to create a BZRA-specific instrument and to assess the psychometric properties of this new tool.
The adaptation of the questionnaire comprised 3 steps: 1) item transformation during group discussions with 8 healthcare providers and 8 BZRA users (aged ≥65 years), 2) pre-test of the questionnaire with 12 other older adults to ensure items understanding, 3) evaluation of the psychometric properties of the new questionnaire with 221 older BZRA users recruited in Belgium, France, and Switzerland. Construct validity was assessed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha, and test-retest reliability with intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).
After the pre-test, the questionnaire had 24 items (19 adapted from the French rPATD, 3 removed, and 5 added). The EFA, however, found that several items performed poorly. Eleven items were consequently removed, based on statistical performance and clinical relevance. Three factors were extracted from the EFA performed on the 11 retained items and were named "Concerns about stopping BZRA", "BZRA inappropriateness", and "Dependence on BZRA". The questionnaire also includes two global questions about willingness to reduce BZRA dosage and willingness to discontinue BZRA. All factors showed acceptable internal consistency (0.68 ≤ Cronbach's alpha ≤0.74). Two factors showed acceptable test-retest reliability. The "Concerns about stopping BZRA" factor was found to vary over time (ICC [95%CI]: 0.35[-0.02; 0.64]).
We developed and validated a 13-item questionnaire to evaluate the attitudes of older people towards BZRA deprescribing. Despite some limitations, this questionnaire appears to be a useful tool for facilitating shared decision-making on BZRA deprescribing.