Antidepressant use in older adults: a toolkit for aged care

Antidepressant use in older adults: a toolkit for aged care

This comprehensive toolkit, offering 2 CPD hours plus an additional 1-hour self-recorded audit, is specifically designed for nurses and pharmacists working in the aged care sector. It provides practical tools and resources to help residential aged care staff improve antidepressant management, ensuring evidence-based, patient-centred care for residents living with depression and anxiety.

Antidepressant use in older adults: a toolkit for aged care equips clinical staff with the skills and knowledge needed to engage in informed, evidence-based conversations, enabling them to make well-considered recommendations that optimise antidepressant use. By aligning care practices with evidence-based standards, the toolkit supports quality improvements in medicine management.

Key features of the course include:

• Three key education areas:

• Treatment initiation.

• Assessing and reviewing ongoing antidepressant use.

• Deprescribing strategies.

• Resources for health professionals and consumers to support implementation.

• A QUM antidepressant audit tool to facilitate quality improvement.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

1. Explain best practices for the safe and appropriate use of antidepressants, including initiation, review, and deprescribing.

2. Identify potential harms associated with antidepressant use and determine appropriate actions.

3. Implement non-pharmacological alternatives, such as lifestyle, social, and psychological therapies, to minimise medicine-related harm.

4. Monitor antidepressant efficacy and tolerability to support informed decision-making.

5. Outline deprescribing strategies, manage withdrawal symptoms, and differentiate withdrawal from relapse.

This toolkit aims to enhance clinical confidence, improve resident health outcomes, and promote the safe, evidence-based use of antidepressants in residential aged care homes.

This Continuing Medical Education (CME) educational session is brought to you by Medcast and the Quality Use of Medicines Alliance. 

For more free Quality Use of Medicines education, check out QHUB on Medcast