Helping people discontinue long-term antidepressants: views of health professionals in UK primary care
Objective The aims of this paper were to identify, characterise and explain clinician factors that shape decision-making around antidepressant discontinuation in UK primary care.Design Four focus groups and three interviews were conducted and analysed using thematic analysis.Participants Twenty-one...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMJ Publishing Group
2019-07-01
|
| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/7/e027837.full |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1846159188163559424 |
|---|---|
| author | Tony Kendrick Geraldine Leydon Carl R May Hannah M Bowers Adam W A Geraghty Emma Maund Wendy O’brien |
| author_facet | Tony Kendrick Geraldine Leydon Carl R May Hannah M Bowers Adam W A Geraghty Emma Maund Wendy O’brien |
| author_sort | Tony Kendrick |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective The aims of this paper were to identify, characterise and explain clinician factors that shape decision-making around antidepressant discontinuation in UK primary care.Design Four focus groups and three interviews were conducted and analysed using thematic analysis.Participants Twenty-one general practitioners (GPs), four GP assistants, seven nurses and six community mental health team workers and psychotherapists took part in focus groups and interviews.Setting Participants were recruited from seven primary care regions and two National Health Service Trusts providing community mental health services in the South of England.Results Participants highlighted a number of barriers and enablers to discussing discontinuation with patients. They held a range of views around responsibility, with some suggesting it was the responsibility of the health professional (HP) to broach the subject, and others suggesting responsibility rested with the patients. HPs were concerned about destabilising the current situation, discussed how continuity and knowing the patient facilitated discontinuation talks, and discussed how confidence in their professional skills and knowledge affected whether they elected to raise discontinuation in consultations.Conclusions Findings indicate a need to consider support for HPs in the management of antidepressant medication and discussions of discontinuation in particular. They may also benefit from support around their fears of patient relapse and awareness of when and how to initiate discussions about discontinuation with their patients. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8d9945360b6b4df793f3394ccbfb4758 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-07-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-8d9945360b6b4df793f3394ccbfb47582024-11-23T20:30:09ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552019-07-019710.1136/bmjopen-2018-027837Helping people discontinue long-term antidepressants: views of health professionals in UK primary careTony Kendrick0Geraldine Leydon1Carl R May2Hannah M Bowers3Adam W A Geraghty4Emma Maund5Wendy O’brien6Primary Care, Population Sciences and Medical Education, University of Southampton, Aldermoor Health Centre, Southampton, UKPrimary Care and Population Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK4 London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London, UK1 Primary Care and Population Sciences, University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Southampton, UKSchool of Primary Care, Population Sciences and Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK1 Primary Care and Population Sciences, University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Southampton, UK1 Primary Care and Population Sciences, University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Southampton, UKObjective The aims of this paper were to identify, characterise and explain clinician factors that shape decision-making around antidepressant discontinuation in UK primary care.Design Four focus groups and three interviews were conducted and analysed using thematic analysis.Participants Twenty-one general practitioners (GPs), four GP assistants, seven nurses and six community mental health team workers and psychotherapists took part in focus groups and interviews.Setting Participants were recruited from seven primary care regions and two National Health Service Trusts providing community mental health services in the South of England.Results Participants highlighted a number of barriers and enablers to discussing discontinuation with patients. They held a range of views around responsibility, with some suggesting it was the responsibility of the health professional (HP) to broach the subject, and others suggesting responsibility rested with the patients. HPs were concerned about destabilising the current situation, discussed how continuity and knowing the patient facilitated discontinuation talks, and discussed how confidence in their professional skills and knowledge affected whether they elected to raise discontinuation in consultations.Conclusions Findings indicate a need to consider support for HPs in the management of antidepressant medication and discussions of discontinuation in particular. They may also benefit from support around their fears of patient relapse and awareness of when and how to initiate discussions about discontinuation with their patients.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/7/e027837.full |
| spellingShingle | Tony Kendrick Geraldine Leydon Carl R May Hannah M Bowers Adam W A Geraghty Emma Maund Wendy O’brien Helping people discontinue long-term antidepressants: views of health professionals in UK primary care BMJ Open |
| title | Helping people discontinue long-term antidepressants: views of health professionals in UK primary care |
| title_full | Helping people discontinue long-term antidepressants: views of health professionals in UK primary care |
| title_fullStr | Helping people discontinue long-term antidepressants: views of health professionals in UK primary care |
| title_full_unstemmed | Helping people discontinue long-term antidepressants: views of health professionals in UK primary care |
| title_short | Helping people discontinue long-term antidepressants: views of health professionals in UK primary care |
| title_sort | helping people discontinue long term antidepressants views of health professionals in uk primary care |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/7/e027837.full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tonykendrick helpingpeoplediscontinuelongtermantidepressantsviewsofhealthprofessionalsinukprimarycare AT geraldineleydon helpingpeoplediscontinuelongtermantidepressantsviewsofhealthprofessionalsinukprimarycare AT carlrmay helpingpeoplediscontinuelongtermantidepressantsviewsofhealthprofessionalsinukprimarycare AT hannahmbowers helpingpeoplediscontinuelongtermantidepressantsviewsofhealthprofessionalsinukprimarycare AT adamwageraghty helpingpeoplediscontinuelongtermantidepressantsviewsofhealthprofessionalsinukprimarycare AT emmamaund helpingpeoplediscontinuelongtermantidepressantsviewsofhealthprofessionalsinukprimarycare AT wendyobrien helpingpeoplediscontinuelongtermantidepressantsviewsofhealthprofessionalsinukprimarycare |