Pill or needle? Determinants of the preference for long-acting injection over oral treatment in people facing chronic illness

We examined under which conditions LAI was preferred over pills. Statistical analyses were performed using Bayesian methods.Results showed that participants preferred LAI over pills in 40.5% to 50.8% of cases. LAI was more preferred for illnesses with low frequency of relapse, low subjective distress, and for somatic than for mental illnesses. The perceived advantage for LAI over pills and the belief about the better efficiency of LAI were the main factors that drove the preference for LAI.Keeping in mind some advantages of LAI, the public negative representations of injections might partially influence patients' prejudices against LAI. These attitudes should be named and discussed with the patients when LAI seems to represent a relevant therapeutic option.
Source: Progress in Neuro Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research