Patients’ and doctors’ attitudes towards bipolar disorder – do we share our beliefs?
Journal Title: Archives of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy - Year 2010, Vol 12, Issue 2
Abstract
Aim. The aim of the presented study was an analysis and comparison of patients’ and psychiatrists’ beliefs regarding the most important aspects of bipolar disorder (BD) treatment. Method. A group of 100 psychiatrists (with at least 5 years’ professional experience) and a group of 100 remitted patients fulfilling ICD-10 and DSM-IV-TR BD criteria (aged 18–65) were enrolled. Their beliefs were investigated with a 41-item structuralised questionnaire (doctors group) and 27-item self evaluation inventory (patients group). The structures of both tools made it possible to compare the results and were based on hierarchical ranking of answers included in each item. Results. A number of important concordances were indicated between doctors’ and patients’ beliefs, e.g. both groups considered that: 1/ depression is the most burdensome episode in the course of BD; 2/ pharmacotherapy is the most crucial element of treatment; 3/ improvement in quality of life is the most important aspect of recovery. On the other hand, the results revealed that patients are convinced that doctors consider improving their life quality much less important than alleviating symptom severity. The hierarchy of problems proposed by the patients as the main obstacles in taking drugs appeared to be the exact antithesis of doctors’ beliefs on this issue. The patients indicated the side effects of drugs as the main cause, whereas doctors considered compliance a crucial problem. Discrepancies in beliefs were also observed regarding the perceived importance of different psychoeducation topics: coping abilities and quality of life improvement – the two most important issues in patients’ opinion were placed in a remote rank in the doctors’ hierarchy, giving way to early recognition of relapse symptoms and suicidality prevention. Conclusion. Discrepancies in psychiatrists’ and patients’ beliefs regarding crucial aspects of BD treatment revealed in the study may be responsible for the worsening of quality of compliance.
Authors and Affiliations
Grzegorz Mączka, Marcin Siwek, Michał Skalski, Bartosz Grabski, Dominika Dudek
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP97053
- DOI -
- Views 93
- Downloads 0
Psychotherapy supervision as viewed from psychodynamic standpoint
In spite of a wide recommendation of supervision in training and continuous education in mental health, professional literature on the problem is relatively scarce. Majority of publications listed in the data bases conce...
Stabilisation mission in Iraq, the individual symptoms of PTSD and a comparison of the level of depression, anxiety and aggression among soldiers returning from the mission and soldiers that stayed in Poland
Aims. The aim of the survey was to establish whether PTSD is present among Polish soldiers returning from a one-year deployment to Iraq and an analysis of its individual symptoms. Methods. Sixty soldiers were examined,...
The phenomenon of dual diagnosis in the light of attachment theory – a case study
A key precept of Bowlby’s attachment theory is that every human being has a biologically and genetically imprinted need to develop relationships with other people. The relationship, which develops between a child and mot...
Manifestations of psychiatric illness in the Medieval and Viking era.
The medicine of medieval Europe was above all influenced by the Hippocratic and Galenic legacies, conveyed through the medical School of Salerno, albeit also more or less embedded in demonological, supernatural and folkl...
Time to choose – DSM-5, ICD-11 or both?
DSM-5 was published in May 2013, and ICD 11 is not due to be published until the end of 2015 at the earliest. Nevertheless, it is possible to make a comparison at this early stage as much of the main decisions have been...