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Out-patient Compliance with Antidepressant Medication

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

E. D. Myers  and
Alan Branthwaite
E. D. Myers*
Affiliation:
North Staffs Health District, Department of Postgraduate Medicine, University of Keele, North Staffordshire Medical Institute, Hartshill, Stoke on Trent ST4 7NY
Alan Branthwaite
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Keele, Staffordshire ST4 5BG
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

A total of 89 depressed out-patients were randomly allocated to one of three groups: group A received one dose of antidepressant medication at night; group B received three doses of medication during the day; group C were allowed to choose either A or B above. Compliance with medication was assessed at three, six, nine and 12 weeks by interrogation and pill count; at the same time, depression and side-effects were rated. No overall significant difference was found between doctor-prescribed and patient-chosen regime, or between once-a-day and three-times-a-day dosage. However, compliance was significantly better in those patients who were allowed to choose, when they selected the three-times-a-day regime. There was a significant decline in compliance for all regimes over the 12 weeks. There was no evidence that better compliance produced a better therapeutic result, and possible reasons are given for this finding.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 160 , Issue 1 , January 1992 , pp. 83 - 86
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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