The $300K, 2-year research project is being funding by a “Grants for Early Medical/Surgical Specialists’ Transition to Aging Research” (GEMSSTAR) career development award.
The study will be the first to evaluate how aspirin use is managed for older patients after they come into the emergency room for bleeding. This is important because aspirin is one of the most commonly used drugs in the world and is associated with increased risk of bleeding.
One of the study’s longer-term goals is to improve care of patients as they transition from the emergency department to primary care, and ensure they are taking aspirin safely. Such transitions are particularly important for the many older adults who consume aspirin without an established indication, a scenario in which risks (i.e., bleeding) likely outweigh benefits (i.e., prevention of a first stroke or heart attack).
Deprescribing – the purposeful discontinuation or dose reduction – of chronic aspirin use should be considered after the manifestation of a bleeding event resulting in an emergency department (ED) visit. Driven by this notion, Dr. Casey will conduct foundational research, guided by Intervention Mapping Theory, to inform the development of a novel emergency department-based deprescribing intervention to address inappropriate aspirin use among older adults presenting with bleeding.
Dr. Casey is an Assistant Professor in the UNC Department of Emergency Medicine. His primary mentor on the project will be Dr. Michelle Meyer, Associate Professor and Associate Chair of Research in the Department of Emergency Medicine.
The research team for this project includes experts from different fields such as Emergency Medicine, Geriatrics, Cardiology, and Pharmacology.
More information is available via this link.