Long-term psychiatric patients' knowledge about their medication

Fifty-three long-term psychiatric outpatients at two clinics in Montreal were surveyed about their knowledge of the psychotropic medications they took and about their opinions of the quality of information they had received about medications. Most respondents were male and had a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Most respondents could identify one medication they took; nearly three- quarters could name a second one. Two-thirds reported having received information on medication, but many respondents wanted the information repeated, and more than half wanted more information. Chronicity and higher levels of education were associated with being better informed.