Background: Older adults in Ireland are at increased risk of adverse drug events (ADE) due, in part, to increasing rates of polypharmacy. Interventions to reduce ADE in community dwelling older adults (CDOA) have had limited success, therefore, new approaches are required.A realist review uses a different lens to examine why and how interventions were supposed to work rather than if, they worked. A rapid realist review (RRR) is a more focused and accelerated version.The aim of this RRR is to identify and examine the contexts and mechanisms that play a role in the outcomes relevant to reducing ADE in CDOA in the GP setting that could inform the development of interventions in Ireland.
Methods: Six candidate theories (CT) were developed, based on knowledge of the field and recent literature, in relation to how interventions are expected to work. These formed the search strategy. Eighty full texts from 633 abstracts were reviewed, of which 27 were included. Snowballing added a further five articles, relevant policy documents increased the total number to 45. Data were extracted relevant to the theories under iteratively developed sub-themes using NVivo software.
Results: Of the six theories, three theories, relating to GP engagement in interventions, relevance of health policy documents for older adults, and shared decision-making, provided data to guide future interventions to reduce ADEs for CDOA in an Irish setting. There was insufficient data for two theories, a third was rejected as existing barriers in the Irish setting made it impractical to use.
Conclusions: To improve the success of Irish GP based interventions to reduce ADEs for CDOA, interventions must be relevant and easily applied in practice, supported by national policy and be adequately resourced. Future research is required to test our theories within a newly developed intervention.
Background: Social exclusion is a process whereby certain individuals are born into or pushed to the margins of society and prevented from participating in social, cultural, economic, and political life. People who experience social exclusion are not afforded the same rights and privileges as other population groups. Socially excluded people often experience poorer outcomes in a variety of domains including health, education, employment, and housing than people with socio-economic privilege. People experiencing social exclusion frequently have higher and more complex health needs and poorer access to healthcare than the general population. The aim of this study is to better understand and explain how social exclusion occurs and how it impacts health over the life course.
Methods: A realist review will be undertaken. Data will be collected via a systematic search of databases of peer-reviewed literature and further iterative searches of peer-reviewed and other literatures as needed. The following data bases will be searched: MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and ASSIA, using both indexed subject headings in each database and relevant key words. Grey literature will be searched via Google Scholar and relevant websites of organisations that work with populations affected by social exclusion.
Conclusion: A realist review will be conducted to explain the underlying societal mechanisms which produce social exclusion and related health outcomes in particular contexts affecting excluded population groups across the life course. The study has the potential to inform policy makers and service managers of how and why social exclusion occurs and potential key intervention points to prevent exclusion from happening.