Service user and professionals’ views of antipsychotic prescribing
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Service user and professionals’ views of antipsychotic prescribing and antipsychotic polypharmacy in forensic inpatient setting.
IRAS ID
196695
Contact name
Carl Thompson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leeds
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The study is an exploratory qualitative study with service users, professional advocates and staff. It focuses on understanding key differences in service user, professional advocates and clinicians’ views and experiences of antipsychotic polypharmacy (prescription of more than one antipsychotic medication). We are interested to explore potential for co-producing a complex intervention involving all relevant groups. Existing approaches to reduce antipsychotic polypharmacy have not been co-designed with the service users, and have resulted with limited success. While there is sufficient evidence to suggest that service user involvement is likely beneficial to the development of interventions of this kind, little is known about specific barriers and facilitators to service user involvement in such interventions in a mental health secondary care context. The study is supported by the research capability funds allocated to the National Institute for Health Research, CLAHRC Yorkshire and Humber’s Evidence Based Transformation theme.
The study aims
• To develop understanding, from staff, service users’ and professional advocates’ perspectives, of the behaviour(s) and process(s) surrounding antipsychotic polypharmacy prescribing and continuance in forensic mental health inpatient settings;
• To understand the likely barriers and facilitators from staff, service users’ and professional advocates’ perspectives to the use of/involvement in potential “patient mediated interventions” in forensic mental health inpatient settings;
Data will be generated from observations of medication reviews and individual in-depth interviews with service users (currently admitted to a forensic psychiatric unit), staff (professionals involved in prescribing antipsychotic medication: pharmacists, psychiatrists and nurses) and professional advocates. Participants will be recruited from forensic psychiatric wards in one NHS trust in England. The study will finish in February 2017.REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - South Yorkshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/YH/0059
Date of REC Opinion
12 Feb 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion