System struggles and substitutes: A qualitative study of general practitioner and psychiatrist experiences of prescribing antipsychotics to children and adolescents

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
File version

Version of Record (VoR)

Author(s)
Murphy, Andrea L
Gardner, David M
Kisely, Steve
Cooke, Charmaine A
Kutcher, Stanley P
Hughes, Jean
Griffith University Author(s)
Primary Supervisor
Other Supervisors
Editor(s)
Date
2016
Size
File type(s)
Location
Abstract

There are significant controversies regarding rising antipsychotic prescription trends in children and adolescents. Many pharmacoepidemiology trend studies have been published, and interpretations of these data are helpful in explaining what is happening in prescribing practices, but not why these patterns exist. There is a lack of qualitative data in this area, and the experience of prescribing antipsychotics to children and adolescents has not been adequately researched. We conducted a qualitative study using an interpretive phenomenological analysis of physicians' experiences of antipsychotic prescribing to children and adolescents. Prescribers participated in individual interviews and a focus group. We used a staged approach for data analysis of transcriptions. In all, 11 physicians including psychiatrists and general practitioners participated in our study. We identified themes related to context, role and identity, and decision-making and filtering. Struggles with health system gaps were significant leading to the use of antipsychotics as substitutes for other treatments. Physicians prescribed antipsychotics to youth for a range of indications and had significant concerns regarding adverse effects. Our results provide knowledge regarding the prescribers' experience of antipsychotics for children and adolescents. Important gaps exist within the health system that are creating opportunities for the initiation and continued use of these agents.

Journal Title

Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry

Conference Title
Book Title
Edition
Volume

21

Issue

4

Thesis Type
Degree Program
School
Publisher link
Patent number
Funder(s)
Grant identifier(s)
Rights Statement
Rights Statement

© The Author(s) 2015. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

Item Access Status
Note
Access the data
Related item(s)
Subject

Psychiatry (incl. psychotherapy)

Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences

Social Sciences

Science & Technology

Life Sciences & Biomedicine

Psychology, Clinical

Psychology, Developmental

Persistent link to this record
Citation

Murphy, AL; Gardner, DM; Kisely, S; Cooke, CA; Kutcher, SP; Hughes, J, System struggles and substitutes: A qualitative study of general practitioner and psychiatrist experiences of prescribing antipsychotics to children and adolescents, Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2016, 21 (4), pp. 634-648

Collections