Adult 18+

Experiences of taking antipsychotic medication for paranoia study

Paranoia
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Participation opportunity


What’s the project?

Have you experienced paranoia and been prescribed or taken antipsychotic medication?

If so, you can take part in a study which aims to understand the experience of antipsychotic medication for paranoia.

Find out more

Many people experience mistrustful or suspicious thoughts, including worries that others are deliberately trying to harm them. The technical term for these worries is paranoia.

People who experience mistrustful thoughts are often offered medication. We want to understand people’s experiences of being offered, taking, or trying antipsychotic medication for mistrustful thoughts, including peoples’ thoughts and views about how people’s experiences of taking antipsychotic
medication can be improved.

Although it is known that antipsychotic medication is the main treatment
offered to people experiencing mistrustful thoughts, there has been little research on peoples’ experience of taking the medication. Therefore, this study will involve interviewing people for around one hour on experiences of being offered, taking, or trying antipsychotic medication.

We hope to use this information to identify ways in which such experiences of medication can be improved. This is an educational project being undertaken by David Sher as part of his doctorate.

Find more information here

Before you decide to take part we will check if the study is suitable for you. We will ask a little about your experiences of mistrust and medication and answer any questions. This will take no longer than 5-10 minutes.

If you are eligible and choose to take part, then the researcher will arrange a convenient date and time to meet with you to talk about your thoughts and feelings about being offered, taking, or trying antipsychotic medication.

We will also ask you for some basic information, such as your age, ethnicity and employment status. During our meeting, we will ask you some questions, for example ‘When you took the medication, did you notice any changes in mistrustful thoughts?’ and ‘When did you first start taking medication?’.

The interviews will be conducted remotely, using a video call, or via telephone if you prefer. Should you prefer to meet face-to-face, interviews can be arranged individually and in a private space, either at your local mental health service or at your home. The meeting will last approximately 45 – 60 minutes and will be audio-recorded.

We will type up the audio recording. This written version of your interview
will be pseudonymised by use of a unique participant identification number. This means we will remove information that can directly identify you, to ensure the information you give does not reveal your identity when it is written up.

Occasionally, after your meeting with the researcher, you may be contacted by telephone to check that we have understood you correctly.

Your usual treatment will not change at all because of this research.

There are no direct intended benefits of taking part in this study. However, we hope that this study will give people an opportunity to discuss their views on medication. Some people may find it helpful to talk about experiences that are important to them.

This research will help clinicians and researchers to develop a better understanding of people’s experiences of being offered, taking, or trying antipsychotic medication whilst having mistrustful thoughts. We hope this will reveal ways in which people’s experiences of taking antipsychotic medication can be improved.

If you choose to take part in the interview, you will be given £15 to thank you for your participation. We will also reimburse any reasonable travel expenses that you might incur, should a face-to-face meeting take place. If you prefer, you may receive reimbursement through a voucher.

Please read the study information sheet for more information.

Please read the information sheet for more information on the study and participant involvement.

If you have any further questions, and to apply, please contact the researcher at [email protected].

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