This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Famuyiwa, O.O. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Intra-city differences in psychotropic drug use: a Nigerian scene

Department of Psychiatry College of Medicine University of Lagos PMB 12003 Lagos Nigeria

In a study of prescribing practice in 3 psychiatric institutions in Lagos, Nigeria, patterns of psychotropic drug use were generally unsatisfactory in terms of poly-pharmacy, high frequency of daily multiple administrations and prolonged use of minor tranquillisers. These deficiencies were noticeable in one of the hospitals that had the lowest doctor:patient ratio with consequent greatest workload, employed the 'medical model' as its main practice-orientation and that bore responsibility for a large part of community psychiatric morbidity. The widespread use of anti-parkinsonian agents had some rationality in view of the grossly inadequate community-based facilities needed to control drug induced extra-pyramidal side-effects. Improving psychiatric services, through personnel training, sufficient funding and the realisation of the need for therapists to conform to acceptable rules of drug prescribing, would help tremendously to minimise the vagaries and anomalies of drug use observed.

The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, Vol. 116, No. 5, 299-303 (1996)
DOI: 10.1177/146642409611600507


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?