Study on covert administration of medications practices among persons with severe mental illness: A cross-sectional study

Prakyath R Hegde, Guru S Gowda, Bhavika Vajawat, Vinay Basavaraju, Sydney Moirangthem, Channaveerachari Naveen Kumar and Suresh Bada Math

International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 2023, vol. 69, issue 1, 28-37

Abstract: Background: Covert administration of medication (CoAdM) by caregivers to persons with severe mental illness (SMI) is a commonly observed medication delivery practice in India. Aims: This study aims to examine different medication delivery practices adopted by caregivers to provide care to SMI at times of medication refusal. Method: This study was conducted at the outpatient department between April 2019 and November 2019. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to interview the caregivers of persons with SMI to assess medication delivery practices. Results: A total of 300 caregivers were interviewed. CoAdM was practiced in 96 (32.0%) persons with SMI at least once during their lifetime, and other strategies used were pleading ( n  = 105, 35.0%), lying ( n  = 10, 3.3%), and threatening ( n  = 154, 51.4%). Logistic regression showed that male gender (OR 4.75; CI 1.37–16.46), absent insight (OR 10.0; CI 2.01–47.56), and poor adherence to medication (OR 4.75; CI 1.31–16.92) were significantly associated with CoAdM in the last 1 year. Caregivers perceived significant improvement in self-care ( Z  = −4.37, p  

Keywords: Caregivers; medication adherence; continuity of patient care; community mental health services; patient medication knowledge; medication errors (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:69:y:2023:i:1:p:28-37

DOI: 10.1177/00207640211065675

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