The Effectiveness of Compliance Therapy on Changes in Drug Attitudes among People with Schizophrenia.

Abstract

Review question/objective This review aims to critically appraise, synthesise and present the best available evidence with regards to the effectiveness of compliance therapy on improving attitude towards medication taking among schizophrenic patients. More specifically, the review question is: What is the effectiveness of compliance therapy in improving drug attitudes measured by the Drug Attitude Inventory? Types of participants People with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizophrenia-form disorder, delusion disorder, schizoaffective disorder, schizophrenia with substance abuse or personality disorders, aged equal to or greater than 18 years old in either an acute or chronic ward will be included. Participants diagnosed with brief psychotic disorder, shared psychotic disorder and psychotic disorder due to a general medical condition will be excluded. Types of intervention(s)/phenomena of interest All studies evaluating the following interventions will be considered for inclusion in the review: 1. Compliance therapy: an intervention which is based on MI 24 and cognitive approaches aims to modify negative beliefs towards medication to improve drug attitudes towards medication-taking. It covers three phases in four to six sessions. Firstly, the patient's stance towards medication has to be elicited by inviting the patients to review their illness histories and identifying their attitudes towards treatment. This is followed by exploring their ambivalence toward medication, where patients are encouraged to comment on their misgivings about medication which are proposed by therapists and then to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of their treatments. The conception of treatment maintenance is finally introduced to people with schizophrenia to prevent the occurrence of a natural tendency to stop taking their medication when they feel good as well as developing recognition of early warning signs of relapse. 2. As comparator: the standard care defined as a normal level of psychiatric routine care, which includes medication treatment, occupational therapy, individual or group counseling and recreational therapy will be viewed as a comparator. Types of outcomes This review will focus on studies that measured drug attitude with the use of the Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI).