Relationships between the Ukrainian Public's Awareness of Psychotropic Drugs, Stigmatizing People Taking Psychotropic Drugs and Stopping Psychotropic Drug Medication without Consulting with a Doctor

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to outline possible relationships between public awareness of psychotropic drugs, stigmatization of people suffering from mental disorders and discontinuation of drugs without consultation with a doctor in Ukraine. Materials and methods. This study is based on the analysis of data obtained through an electronic questionnaire filled out by the Ukrainian public. Until April 2021 the questionnaire was freely available to everyone who wanted to take part in the survey. The questionnaire was distributed via an Internet link. Based on the obtained data, the respondents were divided into different categories depending on their education, profession (a medical worker was analyzed separately). Also, the respondents who had personal experience of using psychotropic drugs were interviewed especially deeply and in more details, depending on which group of drugs they used (antidepressants / antipsychotics / anxiolytics). The separate place in the study was given to identifying the general awareness of the Ukrainian public about correct and erroneous judgments about psychotropic drugs. Results and discussion. Based on the obtained data, main factors which are influencing people awareness of psychotropic drugs were identified, as well as the approximate percentage of citizens with erroneous judgments about psychotropic drugs. Thanks to the results of the questionnaire, the main possible reasons for the withdrawal of treatment with psychotropic drugs by patients without consultation with the attending physician were suggested (identified). Conclusion. It can be concluded from the obtained data that a person's awareness in the field of psychotropic drugs is most influenced by their own experience of their use. For this reason, the author would be interested to know how psychiatric patients are informed by their physicians. The author is aware that the amount of data obtained is not completely sufficient to create a significant picture of the general situation, but she hopes that the obtained data will still allow to get some idea of the situation as a whole. In conclusion, not only the obtained results in this study were outlined, but also possible further actions to obtain a more accurate picture of the situation were mentioned, and the topic of the next study was indicated in order to solve the identified problem