ArticlePeerJ2020
The association between a free medicine program and functioning in people with schizophrenia: a cross-sectional study in Liuyang, China.
Article in PeerJ, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Public mental health services in Southern China and related health outcomes among individuals living with severe mental illness.Global health research and policy · 2024Article
- Association between social support and the severity of positive symptoms in rural community-dwelling patients with schizophrenia during the COVID-19 pandemic.BMC psychiatry · 2024Article
- Regional years of life lost, years lived with disability, and disability-adjusted life-years for severe mental disorders in Guangdong Province, China: a real-world longitudinal study.Global health research and policy · 2022Article
- Effect of the full coverage policy of essential medicines on medication adherence: A quasi-experimental study in Taizhou, China.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- Effects of the Full Coverage Policy of Essential Medicines on Inequality in Medication Adherence: A Longitudinal Study in Taizhou, China.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Article
- Factors Associated with Free Medicine Use in Patients with Hypertension and Diabetes: A 4-Year Longitudinal Study on Full Coverage Policy for Essential Medicines in Taizhou, China.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Do Community Free-Medication Service Policy Improve Patient Medication Adherence? A Cross-Sectional Study of Patients With Severe Mental Disorders in Beijing Community.Frontiers in public health · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPersons with schizophrenia frequently discontinue or avoid medications. Under a national community-based mental health program many places in China have started to provide free medications to people with severe mental health disorders in their communities. In the free medication program (FMP) in Liuyang, China, peripatetic psychiatrists prescribed and dispensed antipsychotic medications free of charge at regular intervals and places convenient for all patients through the primary health care system since 2006. Our study aims to test whether adherence to this FMP improves the functioning of people with schizophrenia.
methodsThe research was conducted in Liuyang, a rural county in central China. Data were obtained from three sources: an ad-hoc survey and the program's management system in 2013 and in-home interviews in 2014 in Liuyang. We conducted a cross-sectional propensity-score based analysis of the "dose" effect of FMP participation on their level of functioning, using medication refill adherence as a proxy for the participatory intensity in the program.
resultsOnly 50.9% of 2,332 participants came for all refills in 2012. Higher refill adherence was associated with slightly worse functional outcomes. The main reasons for refill non-adherence were "unwilling to take medication or only took medication when unwell" (23.6%), "forgot or missed the appointment" (20.6%) and "hospitalized" (20.1%).
conclusionsThe FMP program in Liuyang seemed to have successfully removed barriers in cost and access. However, better refill adherence was not associated with better functional outcomes in this study, which might have been the result of reverse causation. To improve the effectiveness of the FMP, patient-centered measures should be considered.
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