Patients’ Knowledge about Prescribed Antipsychotics and
                    Medication Adherence in Schizophrenia: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Nobuhiro Nagai; Hideaki Tani; Takefumi Suzuki; Saeko Ikai; Philip Gerretsen; Masaru Mimura; Hiroyuki Uchida

doi:10.1055/s-0043-113828

Pharmacopsychiatry, Table of Contents

Pharmacopsychiatry 2017; 50(06): 264-269
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-113828

Original Paper

Patients’ Knowledge about Prescribed Antipsychotics and Medication Adherence in Schizophrenia: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Nobuhiro Nagai

¹Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

,

Hideaki Tani

¹Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

,

Takefumi Suzuki

¹Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

²Inokashira Hospital, Tokyo, Japan

,

Saeko Ikai

¹Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

,

Philip Gerretsen

³Multimodal Imaging Group - Research Imaging Centre, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada

⁴Geriatric Psychiatry Division, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada

,

Masaru Mimura

¹Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

,

Hiroyuki Uchida

¹Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

⁴Geriatric Psychiatry Division, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada

› Author Affiliations

Abstract

Introduction Data on the knowledge about antipsychotic medications prescribed in patients with schizophrenia are very limited. Moreover, it remains unclear how patients’ knowledge about prescribed antipsychotics affects medication adherence.

Methods ighty-one Japanese outpatients with schizophrenia according to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition, were included. Patients’ knowledge of the primary antipsychotics prescribed to them in terms of therapeutic effects, type, and implicated neurotransmitters was assessed with a multiple-choice questionnaire developed for this study. Medication possession ratios (MPRs) were compared between patients who answered correctly and those who did not in each category.

Results The percentages of subjects who answered correctly regarding antipsychotic effects, type, and implicated neurotransmitters were low at 30.9%, 30.9%, and 7.4%, respectively. No differences were found in MPRs between subjects who answered correctly and those who did not.

Discussion Our preliminary results indicate that patients lack knowledge about their antipsychotic medications. More concerning, they suggest that knowledge about prescribed antipsychotics may not directly translate into actual medication adherence in patients with schizophrenia.

Key words

adherence - antipsychotics - knowledge - medication - schizophrenia

Full Text

References

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