Overview
Background
Dr Nagham Ailabouni is a clinician-researcher and NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow at the University of Queensland, Faculty of Health, Medicine, and Behavioural Sciences. She is a 2026 Queensland Young Tall Poppy Award recipient.
Dr Ailabouni specialises in implementation science, deprescribing in people living with dementia and older people, and improving quality use of medicines in aged care. She is recognised for her expertise in co-designing resources that empower consumers to have informed conversations about their medicines with healthcare professionals. Dr Ailabouni is interested in understanding and studying strategies to bridge the deprescribing research to practice gap.
A registered pharmacist with clinical experience across hospital, community, and aged care healthcare settings, Dr Ailabouni completed their pharmacy degree and PhD in deprescribing (2018) from the University of Otago in New Zealand.
Leadership and recognition nationally and internationally:
- In 2026, Dr Ailabouni was the recipient of the Queensland Young Tall Poppy Award
- Dr Ailabouni was elected as the Public Engagement Subcommittee Chair for the Australian Deprescribing Network (2022–25)
- Dr Ailabouni was elected as Co-chair of the American Geriatrics Society Polypharmacy and Deprescribing Special Interest Group (2020–23)
- Dr Ailabouni was competitively selected as an Observer for the Australian Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, Medication Safety Oversight Committee (2023–24)
Leadership and recognition at The University of Queensland, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences:
- Dr Ailabouni served as the Early Career Representative (2022–24)
- In 2024, Dr Ailabouni received the Early Career Researcher award
- Dr Ailabouni was competitively selected as the Deputy Director of Research (2024-2025).
Dr Ailabouni is supervising PhD and Master of Philosophy students. She is passionate about mentoring early career researchers and expanding their supervision practice.
Availability
- Dr Nagham Ailabouni is:
- Available for supervision
Works
Search Professor Nagham Ailabouni’s works on UQ eSpace
2022
Journal Article
Leveraging implementation science to increase the translation of deprescribing evidence into practice
Ailabouni, Nagham J., Reeve, Emily, Helfrich, Christian D., Hilmer, Sarah N. and Wagenaar, Bradley H. (2022). Leveraging implementation science to increase the translation of deprescribing evidence into practice. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 18 (3), 2550-2555. doi: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2021.05.018
2022
Journal Article
Considerations for systematic reviews of quantitative surveys: learnings from a systematic review of the Patients’ Attitudes Towards Deprescribing questionnaire
Weir, Kristie Rebecca, Ailabouni, Nagham J., Schneider, Carl R., Hilmer, Sarah N. and Reeve, Emily (2022). Considerations for systematic reviews of quantitative surveys: learnings from a systematic review of the Patients’ Attitudes Towards Deprescribing questionnaire. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 18 (2), 2345-2349. doi: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2021.07.024
2022
Book Chapter
Pharmacoepidemiology Research Delivering Evidence About Drug Safety in Older Adults
Ailabouni, Nagham J., Kassie, Gizat M. and Kalisch Ellett, Lisa M. (2022). Pharmacoepidemiology Research Delivering Evidence About Drug Safety in Older Adults. Encyclopedia of Evidence in Pharmaceutical Public Health and Health Services Research in Pharmacy. (pp. 1-11) Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-50247-8_25-1
2021
Journal Article
Deprescribing to reduce polypharmacy: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial assessing deprescribing of anticholinergic and sedative drugs in a cohort of frail older people living in the community
Bergler, Ulrich, Ailabouni, Nagham J., Pickering, John W., Hilmer, Sarah N., Mangin, Dee, Nishtala, Prasad S. and Jamieson, Hamish (2021). Deprescribing to reduce polypharmacy: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial assessing deprescribing of anticholinergic and sedative drugs in a cohort of frail older people living in the community. Trials, 22 (1) 766. doi: 10.1186/s13063-021-05711-w
2021
Journal Article
Barriers and enablers of older adults initiating a deprescribing conversation
Ailabouni, Nagham J., Rebecca Weir, Kristie, Reeve, Emily, Turner, Justin T., Wilson Norton, Jennifer and Gray, Shelly L. (2021). Barriers and enablers of older adults initiating a deprescribing conversation. Patient Education and Counseling, 105 (3), 615-624. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2021.06.021
2021
Journal Article
COVID-19 pandemic: considerations for safe medication use in older adults with multimorbidity and polypharmacy
Ailabouni, Nagham J., Hilmer, Sarah N., Kalisch, Lisa, Braund, Rhiannon and Reeve, Emily (2021). COVID-19 pandemic: considerations for safe medication use in older adults with multimorbidity and polypharmacy. Journals of Gerontology - Series A Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 76 (6), 1068-1073. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glaa104
2021
Journal Article
Difficulty with taking medications is associated with future diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias
Barthold, Douglas, Marcum, Zachary A., Chen, Shuxian, White, Lindsay, Ailabouni, Nagham, Basu, Anirban, Coe, Norma B. and Gray, Shelly L. (2021). Difficulty with taking medications is associated with future diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 36 (4), 863-868. doi: 10.1007/s11606-020-06279-y
2021
Journal Article
Medication use quality and safety in older adults: 2019 update
Ailabouni, Nagham J., Marcum, Zachary A., Schmader, Kenneth E. and Gray, Shelly L. (2021). Medication use quality and safety in older adults: 2019 update. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 69 (2), 336-341. doi: 10.1111/jgs.17018
2021
Journal Article
Alterations in drug disposition in older adults: a focus on geriatric syndromes
Maher, Dorsa, Ailabouni, Nagham, Mangoni, Arduino A., Wiese, Michael D. and Reeve, Emily (2021). Alterations in drug disposition in older adults: a focus on geriatric syndromes. Expert Opinion on Drug Metabolism and Toxicology, 17 (1), 41-52. doi: 10.1080/17425255.2021.1839413
2019
Journal Article
Medication use quality and safety in older adults: 2018 update
Ailabouni, Nagham J., Marcum, Zachary A., Schmader, Kenneth E. and Gray, Shelly L. (2019). Medication use quality and safety in older adults: 2018 update. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 67 (12), 2458-2462. doi: 10.1111/jgs.16243
2019
Journal Article
Can existing tools predict older adults' willingness to deprescribe? Considerations for D-PRESCRIBE's post-hoc secondary analysis
Ailabouni, Nagham J. and Reeve, Emily (2019). Can existing tools predict older adults' willingness to deprescribe? Considerations for D-PRESCRIBE's post-hoc secondary analysis. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 15 (11), 1379-1380. doi: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2019.08.025
2019
Journal Article
DEFEAT-polypharmacy: deprescribing anticholinergic and sedative medicines feasibility trial in residential aged care facilities
Ailabouni, Nagham, Mangin, Dee and Nishtala, Prasad S. (2019). DEFEAT-polypharmacy: deprescribing anticholinergic and sedative medicines feasibility trial in residential aged care facilities. International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy, 41 (1), 167-178. doi: 10.1007/s11096-019-00784-9
2017
Journal Article
Deprescribing anticholinergic and sedative medicines: Protocol for a Feasibility Trial (DEFEAT-polypharmacy) in residential aged care facilities
Ailabouni, Nagham, Mangin, Dee and Nishtala, Prasad S (2017). Deprescribing anticholinergic and sedative medicines: Protocol for a Feasibility Trial (DEFEAT-polypharmacy) in residential aged care facilities. BMJ Open, 7 (4) e013800, e013800. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-013800
2017
Journal Article
Do residents need all their medications? A cross-sectional survey of RNs' views on deprescribing and the role of clinical pharmacists
Ailabouni, Nagham, Tordoff, June, Mangin, Dee and Nishtala, Prasad S. (2017). Do residents need all their medications? A cross-sectional survey of RNs' views on deprescribing and the role of clinical pharmacists. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 43 (10), 13-20. doi: 10.3928/00989134-20170914-05
2016
Journal Article
Improvements in the prescribing of antipsychotics in dementia and psychogeriatric units in New Zealand
Tordoff, June M., Ailabouni, Nagham J., Browne, Dorothy P., Al-Sallami, Hesham S. and Gray, Andrew R. (2016). Improvements in the prescribing of antipsychotics in dementia and psychogeriatric units in New Zealand. International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy, 38 (4), 941-949. doi: 10.1007/s11096-016-0318-1
2016
Journal Article
Challenges and enablers of deprescribing: a general practitioner perspective
Ailabouni, Nagham J., Nishtala, Prasad S., Mangin, Dee and Tordoff, June M. (2016). Challenges and enablers of deprescribing: a general practitioner perspective. PLoS One, 11 (4) 0151066. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0151066
2016
Journal Article
General practitioners' insight into deprescribing for the multimorbid older individual: a qualitative study
Ailabouni, N. J., Nishtala, P. S., Mangin, D. and Tordoff, J. M. (2016). General practitioners' insight into deprescribing for the multimorbid older individual: a qualitative study. International Journal of Clinical Practice, 70 (3), 261-276. doi: 10.1111/ijcp.12780
2016
Journal Article
Examining potentially inappropriate prescribing in residential care using the STOPP/START criteria
Ailabouni, N. J., Nishtala, P. S. and Tordoff, J. M. (2016). Examining potentially inappropriate prescribing in residential care using the STOPP/START criteria. European Geriatric Medicine, 7 (1), 40-46. doi: 10.1016/j.eurger.2015.11.004
Funding
Current funding
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Nagham Ailabouni is:
- Available for supervision
Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on how to choose a supervisor.
Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
Leveraging implementation science concepts to improve the translation of healthcare services that improve Quality Use of Medicines
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Chris Freeman, Associate Professor Jean Spinks
-
Master Philosophy
Deprescribing Gabapantinoids
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Chris Freeman, Dr Will Olsen
Media
Enquiries
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