Effectiveness of a structured teaching intervention regarding the management of side effects of antipsychotic drugs on the severity of side effects among in patients in a tertiary care hospital, South India

Abstract

The discovery and use of antipsychotic drugs in the management of psychotic illness has become a boon for the patients as well as for the family members. However, unwanted but expected side-effects can have a detrimental impact on the consumers of such drugs. This study is aimed to assess the severity of side-effects of antipsychotic drugs and the effectiveness of a structured teaching intervention on patients' management of selected side-effects of antipsychotic drugs. A total of 40 patients were enrolled in the study. The results before the teaching intervention showed that there were patients who experienced 'low' to 'very high' side-effects of antipsychotic drugs, as measured by the standardised study tool, Liverpool University Neuroleptics Side Effects Rating Scale. There was a high reduction in the severity of the side-effects of antipsychotic drugs, and patients were experiencing only 'low' to 'moderate' side-effects after the structured teaching intervention Thus, the study findings suggest that health-care providers needs to continuously monitor the side-effects and provide relevant heath teaching to the patients so that there is high compliance to the treatment and thereby improving their quality of life.