Sociology PhD graduate Mathieu Charbonneau, recipient of a postdoctoral fellowship, shares his research

Sociology PhD graduate Mathieu Charbonneau started a postdoctoral fellowship in December, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, at the Canadian Deprescribing Network (CaDeN), based at the Centre de recherche de l’Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (Université de Montréal and CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-De-L’Île-De-Montréal). This postdoctoral research focuses on an international review of deprescribing policies for community-dwelling older adults.

Deprescribing consists of fighting the overuse of medicines, and in the withdrawal of potentially harmful medications, and is a component of the appropriate use of medicines. Medicine appropriateness policies and interventions aim at ensuring that patients, and especially senior citizens, get the right medication, at the right time, at the right dose, and for the right reasons. Along with access, affordability, and cost-effectiveness, appropriate use is a core component of the high performing national pharmaceutical policies, and Mathieu’s postdoctoral research seeks to make medicine appropriateness at the center of current discussions over pharmacare in Canada.