Psychiatric nurses' attitudes to antipsychotic depots in Hong Kong and comparison with London

Psychiatric nurses' attitudes to depots have only been explored in the UK. We conducted a cross-sectional attitudinal study for Hong Kong psychiatric nurses and also conducted international comparisons for nurses' views about depots. A pre-existing UK questionnaire on clinicians' attitudes and knowledge regarding depots was updated for the present study. Participants were 98 psychiatric nurses who attended an academic meeting. The majority of respondents had positive views regarding their role in depot administration; most reported that they had sufficient training (84%). However, many did not feel involved in treatment decision making (60%) and other negative views were expressed including: (1) most patients always prefer to have oral (vs. depot) (80%); and (2) force is sometimes required when administering a depot (40%). Interestingly, most reported that patients' friends and family were more accepting of depot (vs. oral) (69%). When compared with a former sample of London community psychiatric nurses, Hong Kong nurses had less favourable patient-focussed attitudes (mean 56% vs. 60%, P = 0.051) and depot-specific attitudes regarding depots (mean 63% vs. 69%, P < 0.001). In conclusion, therefore, international variation exists and encompasses clinical practice aspects for both the patient and the depot formulation per se. Our participants wanted more involvement in treatment decision making.