Attitudes towards prescribing psychiatric medicines: Do the views of psychology and medical students differ?

Carlos De las Cuevas, Wenceslao Peñate, Lilisbeth Perestelo, Amado Rivero, Jeanette Pérez, Marien González, Alia Pérez-Wehbe

.

DOI: 10.4236/ojpsych.2011.13017                

Abstract

Concordance has been suggested as a process of the consultation in which prescribing process is based on partnership. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to compare attitudes towards psychiatric medication and concordance in medicine taking between medical and psychology students, as they represent future members of mental health teams. Two hundred and sixteen medical students and 222 psychology students completed the Leeds Attitudes toward Concordance scale (LATCon) and the Beliefs about Medication Questionnaire (BMQ) (both adapted for psychiatric medication). Psychology students saw psychiatric medicines as more harmful and were also most likely to believe that psychiatrists overprescribed these medicines. They also scored higher than medical students on attitudes towards concordance, although this difference remained at the limit of statistical significance.

Keywords

Leeds Attitude toward Concordance Scale (LATCon); Beliefs about Medication Questionnaire (BMQ); Medical Students; Psychology Students

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Gómez-Beneito, M. (2009) Evaluación (y actualización) de la estrategia en Salud Mental del sistema nacional de Salud. Available at: 2009, Accessed on July 7, 2010. http://www.ascane.es/Informe-de-Evaluacion_Salud Mental_CISNS.pdf
[2]	Julius, R.J., Novitsky, M.A. Jr. and Dubin, W.R. (2009) Medication adherence: A review of the literature and implications for clinical practice. Journal of Psychiatric Practice, 15, 34-44. doi:10.1097/01.pra.0000344917.43780.77
[3]	Sabate?, E. (2003). Adherence to long-term therapies evidence for action. World Health Organization, Geneva.
[4]	Echeburúa, E., Sarasua, B., Zubizarreta, I., Amor, P.J. and de Corral, P. (2010) Variables predictoras del rechazo, abandono y fracaso terapéutico en hombres violentos contra su pareja tratados psicológicamente en un marco comunitario. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 10, 403-420.
[5]	Marinker, M. (1997) From compliance to concordance: Achieving shared goals in medicine taking. Royal Pharmaceutical Society/Merck Sharp & Dohme, London.
[6]	Haynes, R.B., Ackloo, E., Sahota, N., McDonald, H.P. and Yao, X. (2008) Interventions for enhancing medication adherence. Cochrane Database Systematic Review, 16, CD000011.
[7]	Jónsdóttir, H., Friis, S., Horne, R., Pettersen, K.I., Reikvam, A. and Andreassen, O.A. (2009) Beliefs about medications: Measurement and relationship to adherence in patients with severe mental disorders. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 119, 78-84. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0447.2008.01279.x
[8]	De las Cuevas, C., Rivero, A., Perestelo-Perez, L., Gonzalez, M., Perez, J. and Pe?ate, W. (2011, in press) Psychiatric patients’ attitudes towards concordance and shared decision making. Patient Education and Counseling. doi:10.1016/j.pec.2011.02.015
[9]	Velligan, D., Sajatovic, M., Valenstein, M., Riley, W.T., Safren, S., Lewis-Fernandez, R., Weiden, P., Ogedegbe, G. and Jamison, J. (2010) Methodological challenges in psychiatric treatment adherence research. Clinical Schizophrenia and Related Psychoses, 4, 74-91. doi:10.3371/CSRP.4.1.6
[10]	Mardby, A., Akerlind, I. and Hedenrud, T. (2009) General beliefs about medicines among doctors and nurses in out-patient care: A cross-sectional study. BMC Family Practice, 10, 35. doi:10.1186/1471-2296-10-35
[11]	Horne, R., Frost, S., Hankins, M. and Wright, S. (2001) In the eye of the beholder: Pharmacy students have more positive perceptions of medicines than students of other disciplines. International Journal of Pharmacy Practice, 9, 85-89. doi:10.1111/j.2042-7174.2001.tb01035.x
[12]	Beléndez, M., Hernández, A., Horne, R. and Weinman, J. (2007) Evaluación de las creencias sobre el tratamiento: Validez y fiabilidad de la versión espa?ola del beliefs about medicines questionnaire. International Journal of Health & Clinical Psychology, 7, 767-779.
[13]	Horne, R. and Weinman, J. (1999) Patients’ beliefs about prescribed medicines and their role in adherence to treatment in chronic physical illness. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 47, 555-567. doi:10.1016/S0022-3999(99)00057-4
[14]	Mahler, C., Hermann, K., Horne, R., Jank, S., Haefeli, W.E. and Szecsenyi, J. (2011) Patients’ Beliefs about Medicines in a primary care setting in Germany. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, in press. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2753.2010.01589.x
[15]	Raynor, D.K., Thistlethwaite, J.E., Hart, K. and Knapp, P. (2001) Are health professionals ready for the new philosophy of concordance in medicine taking? International Journal of Pharmacy Practice, 9, 810-814. doi:10.1111/j.2042-7174.2001.tb01034.x
[16]	Thistlethwaite, J.E., Raynor, D.K. and Knapp, P. (2003) Medical students’ attitudes towards concordance in medicine taking: Exploring the impact of an educational intervention. Education for Health, 16, 307-317. doi:10.1080/13576280310001607424
[17]	Montero, I. and León, O. (2007) A guide for naming research studies in Psychology. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 4, 505-520.
[18]	Rojas-Vilches, A.P., Negy, C. and Reig-Ferrer, A. (2011) Attitudes toward seeking therapy among Puerto Rican and Cuban American young adults and their parents. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 11, 313-341.
[19]	Weissman, M.M., Verdeli, H., Gameroff, M.J., Bledsoe, S.E., Betts, K., Mufson, L., Fitterling, H. and Wickramartne, P. (2006) National survey of psychotherapy training in psychiatry, psychology, and social work. Archives of General Psychiatry, 63, 925-934. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.63.8.925
[20]	Knapp, P., Raynor, D.K., Thistlethwaite, J.E. and Jones, M.B. (2009) A questionnaire to measure health practitioners’ attitudes to partnership in medicine taking: LAT Con II. Health Expectations, 12, 175-186. doi:10.1111/j.1369-7625.2009.00545.x
[21]	Muse, M. and McGrath, R.E. (2010) Training comparison among three professions prescribing psychoactive medications: Psychiatric nurse practitioners, physicians, and pharmacologically trained psychologists. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 66, 96-103.
[22]	Lavoie, K.L. and Barone, S. (2006) Prescription privileges for psychologists: A comprehensive review and critical analysis of current issues and controversies. CNS Drugs, 20, 51-66. doi:10.2165/00023210-200620010-00005