An Audit of New Zealand's Intellectual Disability Specialty In-Patient Units: Focussing on Antipsychotic Medication Use

Abstract

Whilst a number of international studies discuss the use of antipsychotic medication for people with intellectual disability, there have been few studies within New Zealand. At the most basic level, we do not know the frequency of this medication use within this population. It is important to identify the antipsychotic medication use for this vulnerable and minority group. Therefore the proposed study will audit files of patients who are in an intellectual disability hospital unit in New Zealand on the 20th July 2011 to determine the frequency of antipsychotic medication use among this population. A descriptive cross-sectional research design was used to collect data from patient files of a maximum of 69 in-patient files across the seven specialist intellectual disability units in New Zealand and simple descriptive analysis was used to analyse the data. Data on participant‟s medication prescription was collected, specifically antipsychotic medication to determine frequency of use. While the participant‟s demographic information and metabolic monitoring was additionally collected. Results revealed that antipsychotic medications are prescribed to people with intellectual disability with 65.3 percent prescribed a regular dose and 49 percent prescribed a pro re nata (PRN) dose. Whilst risperidone was the most frequently prescribed antipsychotic for regular use, chlorpromazine continues to be used for PRN prescriptions. Significant information regarding the demographic information on this population has been established: Young males make up the predominant participant group, 32.7 percent have a diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder and 57.1 percent have an Axis I diagnosis. Results will not only contribute to the current international body of knowledge on this topic, but provide initial national information this may inform further research that could ensure better outcomes for people with intellectual disability in terms of the management of antipsychotic medication.