Factors Affecting Compliance for Patients Post First Episode Psychosis

AIMS: Psychosis is a symptom of various health disorders characterised by hallucinations and delusions. Medication and appointment compliance amongst sufferers of psychosis remains a major issue. The aim of this study is to explore factors affecting compliance to inform interventions for improving service quality. METHODS: A rapid systematic review was conducted on PubMed. Following screening, these papers were extracted and assessed using the hawker tool. 161 papers were identified with a search criterion and 33 were screened after removing non- English records, paid articles and pre-2015 papers. Abstracts of 33 papers were screened and 9 studies were looked at in detail. RESULTS: 33 papers were identified after establishing a search criterion, from this 9 progressed to the inclusion stage. After using the Hawker tool, the quality of the papers averaged 32.8/36 and several significant factors were identified. The most significant factors that affect compliance are: insight, type of treatment, early signs of psychosis, ethnicity, income and qualitative factors. CONCLUSION: Various measures can be suggested to help improve medication and appointment adherence for service users. Improving insight through targeted-informative leaflets on medication available at first contact with the Psychiatrist or GP. More frequent medication reviews for select patient groups identified with a higher risk of non-adherence. Greater income assistance through food and travel vouchers or information on how funding can be accessed. Lastly, staff training on increasing insight for psychosis patients delivered through a 1-day course/e-learning module.