Community perceptions of barriers to management of chronic psychotic disorders and knowledge and attitudes about long-acting injectable antipsychotic medication: qualitative study in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Background: Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) experience a disproportionate burden from chronic psychotic disorders (CPDs), which are the most disabling conditions among people aged 10-24 in Sub-Saharan Africa. Poor medication adherence is seen in approximately half of individuals with CPDs in Sub-Saharan Africa, and is a major driver of relapse. A CPD treatment approach that combines the use of long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotic medications with a brief and practical customised adherence-enhancement behavioural intervention (CAE-L) was recently developed and tested for use in the USA.

Aims: To use a qualitative cross-sectional analysis to gather information on potentially modifiable barriers to management of CPDs, and assess attitudes about LAIs from community participants in Tanzania. Findings were intended to refine the CAE-L curriculum for use in Tanzania.

Method: In-depth interviews and focus groups were conducted with 44 participants (patients with CPD, caregivers, mental healthcare providers). All interviews and focus groups were audiotaped, translated, transcribed and analysed using content analysis, with an emphasis on dominant themes.

Results: Findings indicated that promoting medication adherence and management of CPDs in the Tanzanian setting needs to consider the individual with CPD, the family, the healthcare setting and the broader community context.

Conclusions: Qualitative findings enabled the study team to better understand the real-time barriers to medication adherence, LAI use and management of CPDs more broadly. Refinement of the CAE-L is expected to pave the way for an intervention trial for individuals with CPDs that is culturally and linguistically appropriate to the Tanzanian setting.