Medication adherence, social support, and recovery: perspectives of individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and their families

Abstract

Medication non-adherence for individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders is a problem with serious consequences to personal health, family relationships, and the community at large. Occupational therapists in mental health facilitate medication management strategies and need to be informed in order to determine best practice approaches. This study utilized a qualitative multiple case-study approach to examine the lived experiences of four consumers and four families relative to psychiatric medication adherence, social support, and recovery. In-depth, semi-structured interviews and brief recovery surveys were completed. Results suggest that consumers in this study incorporated medications as a process that illustrated development of self-awareness. Consumers' desire for greater autonomy in early adulthood emerged as a powerful influence on their sense of liminality. Parents articulated that medications were necessary for their adult children's illnesses, and that decisions about how to support their adult children were complicated. The findings of this study have important implications for occupational therapists in the delivery of client-centered mental health care to support individuals and their families with medication adherence.