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Staff perception on reduction of medication in patients with chronic schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

A. Thomas ,
G. Katsabouris  and
N. Bouras
A. Thomas
Affiliation:
Division of Psychiatry and Psychology, UMDS, Guy's Hospital London SE1 9RT
G. Katsabouris
Affiliation:
Division of Psychiatry and Psychology, UMDS, Guy's Hospital London SE1 9RT
N. Bouras*
Affiliation:
Division of Psychiatry and Psychology, UMDS, Guy's Hospital London SE1 9RT
*
∗Correspondence
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This exploratory study assessed staff perceptions to the reduction of maintenance neuroleptic medication in patients with chronic schizophrenia living in a long-stay hospital. Ten in-patients were assessed at regular times over six months. In addition to the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), data were obtained from nursing staff on patients' ward behaviour (Ward Behaviour Interview Schedule, WBIS), clinical global opinion (CGI) and staff reaction (SR) to the reduction of medication plan. The average decrease of BPRS and WBIS was not related to keyworker's clinical global impression. The SR increased against the reduction of medication over the study period (P<0.05). Staff perceptions in the treatment of patients with chronic schizophrenia and their possible influence on prescribed closes should be taken into consideration in addition to psychopathology and clinical symptoms.

Type
Original Papers
Information
Psychiatric Bulletin , Volume 21 , Issue 11 , November 1997 , pp. 692 - 694
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 1997 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

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