Case Managers and Antipsychotic Medications

Paul Morrison, Tom Meehan, Norman Jay Stomski

 The present study explores Australian case managers' perceptions of mental health consumers' use of antipsychotic medications and the side-effects resulting from these medications. Semistructured interviews were used to elicit material from nine case managers in a community care setting in South-East Queensland, Australia. Content analysis was used to examine the transcripts, and the audio-recordings were replayed to identify important contextual cues. The analysis identified several main themes, including perceptions of the use of antipsychotic medications and associated side-effects, the provision of information about antipsychotic medication side-effects; the assessment of antipsychotic medication side-effects; and the promotion of effective management of antipsychotic medication side-effects. The participants believed that antipsychotic medication provided clear benefits to mental health consumers. Most participants believed that consumers adapted to side-effects and came to accept them. The case managers themselves often felt poorly informed about antipsychotic medication side-effects, leading them to request more succinct types of information. It was notable to find that there was a lack of systematic approach to the assessment of side-effects. This finding highlighted the need to incorporate the routine structured assessment of antipsychotic medication side-effects in providing care to mental health consumers in the community.