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Patients' knowledge and views of their depot neuroleptic medication

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

R. Goldbeck*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen AB25 2ZH
S. Tomlinson
Affiliation:
Goldenhill Resource Centre, Clydebank
J. Bouch
Affiliation:
Goldenhill Resource Centre, Clydebank
*
Correspondence
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Abstract

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Aims and method

This study examined the attitudes and knowledge of patients regarding their depot neuroleptic medication. All patients were attending a community mental health centre in Clydebank, Scotland.

Results

Many patients had limited knowledge of their medication, its benefits and side-effects as well as the rationale for its use. The biggest gaps were found in patients' knowledge of the long-term side-effects of their medication.

Clinical implications

Our findings raise doubts as to the capacity of some patients to give informed consent to their treatment. A number of steps are outlined in order to raise patients' standard of knowledge.

Type
Original Papers
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 © 1999 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

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