Journal of Education and Health Promotion

Knowledge, attitude, and practice of medical interns and postgraduate residents on American Geriatric Society updated Beers criteria

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

. Aditi Rathore
. Rishabh Sharma 1
. Parveen Bansal 2
. Manik Chhabra 1
. Malika Arora 3

1 Department of Pharmacy Practice, Indo‑Soviet Friendship College of Pharmacy, Moga, Punjab, India

2 University Centre of Excellence in Research, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, Punjab, India

3 Department of Health Research, Ministry of Family and Welfare, Govt. of India, Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, Faridkot, Punjab, India

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) prevalence in older adults is increasing
day by day due to lack of knowledge among medical students and professionals.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the knowledge of medical students toward American Geriatric
Society (AGS) Beers criteria for PIM prescribing.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross‑sectional study employed a self‑administered questionnaire
which was validated and designed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of medical interns
and postgraduate residents on Beers criteria for PIMs in older adults. The study was conducted
in Faridkot region of Punjab in 2019. This study will utilize a purposive sampling strategy and a
convenience sampling of up to 183 participants. Mann–Whitney U or Kruskal–Wallis tests were used
to compare different issues as appropriate. P values of <0.05 were considered significant.
RESULTS: Out of 183 questionnaires distributed, only 155 participants (response rate 84.6%) had
filled the survey and were included in the study. 61.3% (n = 95) of the respondents were males. The
mean knowledge score of 155 participants was (5.16 ± 1.56), where the highest score was 9 and the
lowest score was 2 out of 10. 15.5% (n = 24) of the participant strongly agreed that Beers criteria use
is necessary in clinical setting and would be very helpful. While 22.5% (n = 35) of the participants
strongly agreed that PIMs cause adverse drug event (ADE) and drug‑related problems (DRPs) in
older adults. Age of the participant had a significant effect on the knowledge score (p = 0.009), and
participant aged between 31 and 40 years had significantly higher knowledge scores compared with
participants falls under 20–30 years.
CONCLUSION: Medical students and postgraduate residents had average knowledge of PIMs and
are unaware of the standard guidelines in older adults such as the Beers criteria. Lack of formal
education or training about Beers guidelines was the main reason responsible for average knowledge
among participants.

Keywords

Attitude
Beers criteria
knowledge
older adults
practice
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Journal of Education and Health Promotion
Volume 13, Issue 1
Winter 2023
Pages 1-8

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