title: Patients' and clinicians' attitude towards long-acting depot antipsychotics in subjects with a first episode of psychosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The acceptance and use of long-acting depot antipsychotics has been shown to be influenced by the attitudes of patients and clinicians. Depot treatment rates are low across countries and especially patients with first-episode psychosis are rarely treated with depot medication. The aim of this article was to review the literature on patients' and clinicians' attitudes towards long-acting depot antipsychotics in subjects with first-episode psychosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic search of Medline, Embase, PsycINF and Google Scholar was conducted. Studies were included if they reported original data describing patients' and clinicians' attitudes towards long-acting depot antipsychotic in subjects with first-episode psychosis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six studies out of a total of 503 articles met the inclusion criteria. Four studies conveyed a negative and two a positive opinion of clinicians toward depot medication. No systematic study directly addressed the attitude of patients with first-episode psychosis. Psychiatrists frequently presume that patients with first-episode psychosis would not accept depot medication and that depots are mostly eligible for chronic patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Full information of all patients especially those with first episode psychosis in a therapeutic relationship that includes shared decision-making processes could reduce the negative image and stigmatization attached to depots.
authors.affiliation: University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, Lenggstrasse 31, P.O. Box 1931, Zurich 8032, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kirschner
authors.forename: Anastasia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Theodoridou
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fusar-Poli
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaiser
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jäger
keywords: antipsychotics; attitudes; depot; first-episode psychosis; schizophrenia