DOI

10.21007/con.dnp.2023.0064

Faculty Advisor

Sharon Little, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

4-28-2023

Disciplines

Investigative Techniques | Medicine and Health Sciences | Mental Disorders | Nursing | Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing

Abstract

Summary

Background: Compliance with oral antipsychotic medications (OAP) in the treatment of patients with schizophrenia has been a challenge. Challenges to OAP include medication side effects, lack of ability to obtain medications, and missing doses, among other factors. As a result of this non-compliance, those taking oral antipsychotic medication are at greater risk for exacerbation of their illness. The consequence of relapse carries considerable risks with each psychotic event. The study aims to compare if medication treatment adherence is greater in clients with schizophrenia using oral antipsychotics (OAPs) vs. long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotic medications.

Methods: In this scoping review, 15 high-quality research articles were included for review. Articles were searched using the databases PubMed, EBSCO, and Medline. The search was conducted between August 2021 and November 2022, using specific keywords relevant to the background of the scoping review. Publication dates range from 2016-2022.

Results: In this article, we examined and reviewed evidence-based research ranging in publication dates from 2016-2022. These studies revealed a wide range of benefits identifying LAIs as superior to OAPs in improving patient outcomes in clients diagnosed with schizophrenia. Evidence-based literature in this scoping review reports greater patient adherence to treatment with LAI vs. OAP.

Conclusion: Treatment of schizophrenia can be challenging. LAI can be superior to OAP in the treatment of this disease. Treatment with LAI in clients with schizophrenia can lead to increased patient adherence, decreased ER visits, decreased length of hospital stay, hospitalizations, increased prescription fills, and increased quality of life.

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