Accidental Overdose, Deliberate Overdose, Medication Adherence, Suicide, Attempted
Conditions
Keywords
Medication adherence, Accidental overdose, Deliberate overdose, Suicide, attempted
Brief summary
This quantitative, interview-based study will determine if increased prescription medication adherence via blister pack administration will reduce suicide related behavior among the high risk population of patients discharged from a psychiatric inpatient unit. The aims of the project are to determine whether blister packaging medication significantly increases treatment adherence and if blister packaging significantly decreases intentional self-poisoning behavior (i.e., suicide attempts and completions). By tracking former psychiatric inpatients for 12 months post-discharge and obtaining monthly medication adherence ratings, we will determine if blister packaging (BP) medications leads to better adherence than dispensing as usual (DUA). The psychiatric patients we will be recruiting have been diagnosed with, major affective disorder, bipolar affective disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, or schizophrenia (or any combination of these diagnoses). By tracking former psychiatric patients for 12 months post-discharge and obtaining monthly reports (self-report and medical record review) of suicide-related behaviors, we will determine if patients in the BP condition have less intentional self-poisoning behavior than those in the DAU condition.
Interventions
OTHERBlister packaging medications
Dispensing prescription medications on pre-filled blister package cards.
OTHERDispense as usual
Dispensing prescription medications in standard pill bottles.
Sponsors
United States Department of Defense
VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* age 18 or older * diagnosed with major affective disorder, * bipolar affective disorder, * post-traumatic stress disorder, or * schizophrenia (or any combination of these diagnoses) * under voluntary status at some point during admission * currently prescribed medications * deemed capable of managing their own medications after discharge * not currently active duty in any branch of the military * able to correctly answer questions verifying they understand the consent form * English-Speaking
Exclusion criteria
* Under the age of 18 * Not under voluntary status at some point during admission * Not currently prescribed medications * Not able to manage their own medications after discharge * Non-English-speaking * Currently active duty in any branch of the military * Inability to correctly answer questions indicating comprehension of information on the consent form
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Medication Adherence as assessed with the Brief Adherence Rating Scale (BARS) | monthly for 12 months |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Medication overdoses as measured by the Self-Harm Behavior Questionnaire (SHBQ) | monthly for 12 months | Both accidental and intentional overdoses will be assessed. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed