Rationales that providers and family members cited for the use of antipsychotic medications in nursing home residents with dementia.

OBJECTIVES

To describe the rationales that providers and family members cite for the use of antipsychotic medications in people with dementia living in nursing homes (NHs).

DESIGN

Qualitative, descriptive study.

SETTING

Twenty-six medium-sized and large facilities in five Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regions.

PARTICIPANTS

Individuals diagnosed with dementia who received an antipsychotic medication.

MEASUREMENTS

Data were collected from medical record abstraction and interviews with prescribers, administrators, direct care providers, and family members. Textual data from medical record abstraction and responses to open-ended interview questions were analyzed using directed content analysis techniques. A coding scheme was developed, and coded reasons for antipsychotic prescribing were summarized across all sources.

RESULTS

Major categories of reasons for use of antipsychotic medications in the 204 NH residents in the study sample were behavioral (n = 171), psychiatric (n = 159), emotional states (n = 105), and cognitive diagnoses or symptoms (n = 114). The most common behavioral reasons identified were verbal (n = 91) and physical (n = 85) aggression. For the psychiatric category, psychosis (n = 95) was most frequently described. Anger (n = 93) and sadness (n = 20) were the most common emotional states cited.

CONCLUSION

The rationale for use of antipsychotic drug therapy frequently relates to a wide variety of indications for which these drugs are not approved and for which evidence of efficacy is lacking. These findings have implications for clinical practice and policy.