Developing a psychotropic medication education group on a secure ward for men with intellectual disabilities
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/AMHID-04-2017-0010 |
| Date | 03 July 2017 |
| Published date | 03 July 2017 |
| Pages | 155-164 |
| Author | Rory Sheehan,John Rochester,Fatima Hafesji,Rita Kyambadde,Shaun Gravestock |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Learning & intellectual disabilities |
Developing a psychotropic medication
education group on a secure ward for
men with intellectual disabilities
Rory Sheehan, John Rochester, Fatima Hafesji, Rita Kyambadde and Shaun Gravestock
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to establish and evaluate a psychotropic medication education group
for men with intellectual disability on a secure psychiatric ward.
Design/methodology/approach –A multi-disciplinary team was convened to oversee the project.
A curriculum was developed that covered major classes of psychotropic drugs as well as broader themes
related to taking medication and general wellbeing. Each group session incorporated a range of teaching
methods supported by accessible materials. Evaluation was by qualitative and quantitative methods.
Findings –There was interest and enthusiasm for the group. Participant feedback was generally positive and
most of those who completed the group reported achieving their personal learning goals. There was no
significant difference in results of a medication knowledge test at baseline and at the end of the course.
Feedback from group members and reflections of the course facilitators are discussed.
Research limitations/implications –The results of this small-scale study may not be applicable to other
groups or settings. Evaluation measures seemed unable to capture some elements of the group processes
and outcomes.
Practical implications –Establishing and running a psychoeducational group on a low-secure ward for
men with intellectual disabilities is possible and potentially valuable. Learning from this project will be useful
for others considering group-based interventions for people with intellectual disability.
Originality/value –This paper adds to the limited literature describing interventions to improve medication
knowledge in people with intellectual disability.
Keywords Education, Service evaluation, Intellectual disability, Feasibility study, Group intervention,
Psychotropic medication
Paper type Case study
Background
There is ongoingcontroversy over the use of psychotropicmedications for people with intellectual
disability. Recent epidemiological studies utilising routinely collected data from large primary
care databases have highlighted notable discrepancies between the number of people with
intellectualdisability who are prescribedpsychotropic medication andthe number with a recorded
mental illness for whichit is licensed (Sheehan et al., 2015; Public Health England, 2015). In many
cases, it seems that psychotropic medicationis used to manage challenging behaviour;this is not
necessarily inappropriate, but the evidence to support psychotropic drug use for challenging
behaviour is lacking and many fear that a reliance on psychotropic medication detracts from the
delivery of psychosocial interventions that might more effectively target the underlying cause of
the behaviour and are necessary to improve quality of life.
In England there is now a national initiative to reduce psychotropic medication prescribing for
people with intellectual disability. The majority of attention has focussed on antipsychotic
medications, as the class of psychotropic that has historically been associated with greatest
degree of prescribing and arguably has the most significant side-effect profile. However,
Received 4 April 2017
Revised 17 May 2017
Accepted 30 May 2017
Rory Sheehan is a ST6
Psychiatry Trainee and NIHR
Fellow at the North London
Training Scheme for Psychiatry
of Intellectual Disability,
London, UK.
John Rochester is a Matron,
Fatima Hafesji is a Clinical Ward
Pharmacist, Rita Kyambadde is
a Ward Manager and
Shaun Gravestock is a
Consultant Psychiatrist in
Forensic Intellectual Disability,
all at the East London NHS
Foundation Trust, London, UK.
DOI 10.1108/AMHID-04-2017-0010 VOL. 11 NO. 4 2017, pp.155-164, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2044-1282
j
ADVANCESIN MENTAL HEALTH AND INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES
j
PAGE155
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