Objectives: To describe the rationales that providers and family members cite for the use of antipsychotic medications in people with dementia living in nursing homes (NHs).
Design: Qualitative, descriptive study.
Setting: Twenty-six medium-sized and large facilities in five Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regions.
Participants: Individuals diagnosed with dementia who received an antipsychotic medication.
Measurements: Data were collected from medical record abstraction and interviews with prescribers, administrators, direct care providers, and family members. Textual data from medical record abstraction and responses to open-ended interview questions were analyzed using directed content analysis techniques. A coding scheme was developed, and coded reasons for antipsychotic prescribing were summarized across all sources.
Results: Major categories of reasons for use of antipsychotic medications in the 204 NH residents in the study sample were behavioral (n = 171), psychiatric (n = 159), emotional states (n = 105), and cognitive diagnoses or symptoms (n = 114). The most common behavioral reasons identified were verbal (n = 91) and physical (n = 85) aggression. For the psychiatric category, psychosis (n = 95) was most frequently described. Anger (n = 93) and sadness (n = 20) were the most common emotional states cited.
Conclusion: The rationale for use of antipsychotic drug therapy frequently relates to a wide variety of indications for which these drugs are not approved and for which evidence of efficacy is lacking. These findings have implications for clinical practice and policy.
Keywords: antipsychotic medication; dementia; nursing home.
© 2015, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2015, The American Geriatrics Society.