Almost one third of the South Australian population reside in regional locations, which are serviced by just 8% of the State's total psychiatrist workforce. Consequently, access to psychotropic medications in regional South Australia (SA) can be challenging. Granting prescribing rights to mental health nurses (MHNs) located in regional settings presents an opportunity to increase consumer access to psychotropic medications. The aim of the study was to understand the perspectives of mental health workers (MHWs) practising in regional and metropolitan settings towards MHN prescribing. The study adopted a qualitative approach. Seventeen MHWs participated in three focus groups, including two in regional SA and one in a metropolitan site within the State of SA. Participants reported difficulties in accessing medicines in regional areas. The regional focus groups indicated that MHN prescribing may help to release psychiatrists' time and provide quicker assessment and diagnosis. By contrast, the metropolitan focus group expressed reservations about MHN prescribing. Participants indicated that suitable governance structures supported by appropriate education programmes were a necessary prerequisite for MHN prescribing of psychotropic medications. MHN prescribing may help to mitigate the impact of psychiatrist shortages in regional South Australia and possibly in other areas of the world where recruitment is a challenge. The provision of adequate education and the establishment of a suitable governance and support framework are considered necessary steps to progress MHN prescribing.
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science
2
2%
Medicine and Dentistry
2
2%
Arts and Humanities
1
1%
Other
6
7%
Unknown
60
72%
Attention Score in Context
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 3. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 12 November 2025.
All research outputs
#19,779,679
of 32,463,228 outputs
Outputs from Health & Social Care in the Community
#1,422
of 2,217 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#197,219
of 366,109 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Health & Social Care in the Community
#26
of 55 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 32,463,228 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 38th percentile – i.e., 38% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 2,217 research outputs from this source. They typically receive more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 8.6. This one is in the 35th percentile – i.e., 35% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 366,109 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 45th percentile – i.e., 45% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 55 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 52% of its contemporaries.
