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Interventions to improve adherence to antipsychotic medication in patients with schizophrenia–A review of the past decade

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 April 2020

E. Barkhof*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Centre, Meibergdreef 5, 1105AZAmsterdam, The Netherlands
C.J. Meijer
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Centre, Meibergdreef 5, 1105AZAmsterdam, The Netherlands
L.M.J. de Sonneville
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Child and Adolescent Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
D.H. Linszen
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Centre, Meibergdreef 5, 1105AZAmsterdam, The Netherlands
L. de Haan
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Centre, Meibergdreef 5, 1105AZAmsterdam, The Netherlands
*
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +31 20 8913500; fax: +31 20 8913702.E-mail address:e.barkhof@amc.uva.nl (E. Barkhof).
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Abstract

Objective

Nonadherence to antipsychotic medication is highly prevalent in patients with schizophrenia and has a deleterious impact on the course of the illness. This review seeks to determine the interventions that were examined in the past decade to improve adherence rates.

Method

The literature between 2000 and 2009 was searched for randomized controlled trials which compared a psychosocial intervention with another intervention or with treatment as usual in patients with schizophrenia.

Results

Fifteen studies were identified, with a large heterogeneity in design, adherence measures and outcome variables. Interventions that offered more sessions during a longer period of time, and especially those with a continuous focus on adherence, seem most likely to be successful, as well as pragmatic interventions that focus on attention and memory problems. The positive effects of adapted forms of Motivational Interviewing found in earlier studies, such as compliance therapy, have not been confirmed.

Conclusion

Nonadherence remains a challenging problem in schizophrenia. The heterogeneity of factors related to nonadherence calls for individually tailored approaches to promote adherence. More evidence is required to determine the effects of specific interventions.

Information

Type
Review
Copyright
Copyright © Elsevier Masson SAS 2012

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