Discrepancy in Taiwanese psychiatrists’ preferences for long-acting injectable antipsychotics across facilities: a nationwide questionnaire survey

BACKGROUND: Although many studies have discussed psychiatrists’ attitudes toward long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs), no previous study has focused on differences in preference based on the facilities in which the psychiatrists practiced. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A pilot survey was conducted in a medical center in northern Taiwan, and a questionnaire was then distributed at the annual conference of the Taiwanese Society of Psychiatry in 2013. The questionnaire included general demographic data and preferences for the use of LAIs in different situations. RESULTS: A total of 142 psychiatrists were included in our study. Among them, 114 were male (80.3%), and most practiced in general hospitals (n=110, 77.5%). We found that general hospital psychiatrists were more likely to prescribe LAIs for patients in the acute stage and with positive symptoms than were psychiatric hospital psychiatrists. General hospital psychiatrists also tended to prescribe LAIs at every time point of the disease. CONCLUSION: General hospital psychiatrists were more likely to prescribe LAIs than those in psychiatric hospitals. Knowing the factors affecting psychiatrists’ preferences may help us to develop a further study to explore “why” psychiatrists consider or do not consider LAIs in different facilities.