Schwartz Shaina, Carilli Christina, Mian Taimur, Ruekert Laura, Kumar Archana
Bachelor of Sciences Candidate, Department of Psychology, High Point University School of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences, High Point, North Carolina.
Core Faculty Member, Psychiatry Residency Program, Community Hospital North Behavioral Health Pavilion, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Ment Health Clin. 2022 Aug 23;12(4):232-240. doi: 10.9740/mhc.2022.08.232. eCollection 2022 Aug.
Long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAI-As) are important tools for the treatment of schizophrenia, yet they appear to be underutilized. This study will assess practitioner perceptions of LAI-As to elucidate reasons for underuse and uncover new avenues to increase appropriate use.
An anonymous electronic survey was developed and actively distributed to behavioral health care practitioners (MD, DO, PA, NP, PharmD, RN, LCSW). Independent testing and linear regression analysis was used to assess for interactions between survey responses and individual factors.
A total of 146 survey responses were collected from September 3, 2020 to March 17, 2021. On average, participants thought that LAI-As were slightly underutilized in practice. The mean estimated patient acceptance rate for LAI-A therapy was 38.6% ± 29.5% (range = 0%-100%). Participants who were <40 years of age and those with a psychiatric pharmacist at their practice site had significantly higher estimated acceptance rates. The highest-rated barriers to LAI-A use were related to negative patient attitudes, lack of patient education, and access issues (eg, transportation, cost). Respondent characteristics including age, gender identity, geographic location, practice setting, and the presence of a psychiatric pharmacist significantly influenced the perceived impact of these barriers.
Behavioral health practitioners generally believed that LAI-As were underused, and only one-third of their patients would be accepting of the therapy. Several barriers were perceived as frequently impacting LAI-A use, but these were reduced by the presence of a psychiatric pharmacist. Understanding practitioner perceptions can assist with increasing the use of LAI-As.
长效注射用抗精神病药物（LAI-As）是治疗精神分裂症的重要工具，但它们的使用似乎未得到充分利用。本研究将评估从业者对LAI-As的看法，以阐明未充分使用的原因，并发现增加合理使用的新途径。
设计了一项匿名电子调查问卷，并积极分发给行为健康护理从业者（医学博士、医学博士、执业助理医师、执业护士、药学博士、注册护士、临床社会工作者）。采用独立测试和线性回归分析来评估调查回复与个体因素之间的相互作用。
2020年9月3日至2021年3月17日共收集到146份调查问卷回复。平均而言，参与者认为LAI-As在实际应用中略有未充分利用。LAI-A治疗的平均估计患者接受率为38.6%±29.5%（范围=0%-100%）。年龄小于40岁的参与者以及在其实践场所配备精神科药剂师的参与者的估计接受率显著更高。LAI-A使用的最高评级障碍与患者的消极态度、缺乏患者教育以及获取问题（如交通、费用）有关。包括年龄、性别认同、地理位置、实践场所以及精神科药剂师的存在等受访者特征显著影响了这些障碍的感知影响。
行为健康从业者普遍认为LAI-As未得到充分利用，并且他们的患者中只有三分之一会接受这种治疗。一些障碍被认为经常影响LAI-As的使用，但精神科药剂师的存在减少了这些障碍。了解从业者的看法有助于增加LAI-As的使用。
