Open Access Research
Effect of an educational intervention on physicians’ attitudes and barriers toward using STOPP and Beers criteria
Muath F. Najjar1,*
, Yaman W. Kassab2,3,, Syed Azhar Syed Sulaiman4, Shahad Najar5
1Department of Clinical pharmacy, Al-Rayan National College of Health Sciences, Al-Rayan National Colleges, Madinah, Saudi Arabia
2Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, National University of Science and Technology, Muscat, Oman
3College of Pharmacy, Al-Bayan University, Baghdad, Iraq
4Discipline of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
5Fizyoterapi ve Rehabilitasyon bölümü, Sakarya uygulamalı bilimler Üniversitesi, Sakarya, Turkey
*Corresponding author:
Muath Najjar; Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Al-Rayan National College of Health Sciences, Al-Rayan National Colleges, Madina, Saudi Arabia; Tel.: +966503959988; e-mail: mf.najjar@amc.edu.sa
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Published: 2026 ; https://doi.org/10.61873/
Abstract
Background: Prescribing appropriate medications for geriatric patients remains a major challenge for healthcare professionals in both inpatient and outpatient settings. There is an important need for improving the physicians’ attitude towards drug therapy in geriatric patients to improve the healthcare system performance and serve the people using the system. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of an educational intervention on physicians’ attitudes toward prescribing potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) among geriatric inpatients. It also aimed to identify barriers to the use of the STOPP and Beers criteria and to explore factors that may encourage physicians to apply these prescribing guidelines in clinical practice. Methodology: A quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test study without a control group design was carried out to evaluate the impact of the educational interventions on physicians’ attitudes. Results: Professional qualification, years of experience, and the number of CME hours were the major factors associated with physicians’ median attitude scores toward the STOPP and Beers criteria. The major barriers were polypharmacy and frequent visits to multiple physicians and clinics. Around 45 (60.8%) of the physicians either agreed or strongly agreed with survey questions regarding reducing polypharmacy among geriatric inpatients as encouraging factors. Conclusion: Educational intervention was associated with improved physicians’ attitudes towards geriatric pharmacotherapy.
Keywords: inappropriate medications, geriatric, education, attitude, Saudi Arabia
Please cite as:
Najjar M. F., Kassab Y. W, Syed Sulaiman S. A., Najar S.: Effect of an educational intervention on physicians’ attitudes and barriers toward using STOPP and Beers criteria. Epitheorese Klin. Farmakol. Farmakokinet. xx(xx): xx-xx (2026). DOI: 10.61873/XXXXXXX
pISSN 1011-6575 • eISSN 2945-1914