Antipsychotic prescribing as a treatment of dementia in British Columbia: physician-level characteristics associated with receiving potentially inappropriate prescriptions
| dc.contributor.advisor | Rudoler, David | |
| dc.contributor.author | Littleford, Stephanie | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-04-25T16:14:24Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-04-25T16:14:24Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2023-04-01 | |
| dc.degree.discipline | Community, Public and Population Health | en |
| dc.degree.level | Master of Health Sciences (MHSc) | en |
| dc.description.abstract | Antipsychotic prescribing has increased. One attribute of this is off-label prescribing of antipsychotics to people with dementia to treat behavioural and psychological symptoms, which is not supported by evidence-informed guidelines. This manuscript investigated physician-level factors associated with prescribing antipsychotics to community-dwelling adults with dementia by primary care physicians in British Columbia. Most physician variables were not associated with a patient being dispensed an antipsychotic. A physician’s years in practice was significantly associated with a patient’s risk of receiving an antipsychotic. Patients who received an antipsychotic were older, had lower incomes, used more prescriptions, contacted a physician more, and had higher comorbidity scores compared to patients who did not receive an antipsychotic. Rarity of outcomes, decreased rate of antipsychotic prescriptions, and little indication of practice-variation indicated physicians appropriately prescribe antipsychotics to patients with dementia. Future studies should investigate career-variation, apply similar methodology in regions of Canada, and investigate qualitative factors associated with antipsychotic prescribing at the physician- and patient/caregiver-level. | en |
| dc.description.sponsorship | University of Ontario Institute of Technology | en |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10155/1610 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en |
| dc.subject | Prescribing | en |
| dc.subject | Primary care | en |
| dc.subject | Antipsychotic | en |
| dc.subject | Dementia | en |
| dc.title | Antipsychotic prescribing as a treatment of dementia in British Columbia: physician-level characteristics associated with receiving potentially inappropriate prescriptions | en |
| dc.type | Thesis | en |