Preferences for Selecting and Initiating Long-Acting Injectable Antipsychotic Agents for the Treatment of Patients With Schizophrenia: Results From the US DECIDE Survey.

Background: Long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs) improve adherence and reduce schizophrenia relapse rates. Data on which LAI attributes drive clinician preference are limited.

Methods: In the DECIDE survey, 380 psychiatric clinicians (psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, and physician assistants) were surveyed regarding preferences when selecting and initiating LAIs for patients with schizophrenia. Responses were analyzed by clinician use of LAIs (high [≥ 31% of their patients using LAIs] or low [≤ 14% of their patients using LAIs]) and mindset toward LAI use (early, severity reserved, adherence reserved, and LAI hesitant).

Results: Overall and across subgroups, side effects were the most important consideration when selecting a particular LAI, with 33% of clinicians ranking this as most important (26%-46% across subgroups). Clinician preference for the molecule was most often ranked least important (47% overall; 39%-59% across subgroups). A significantly higher proportion of clinicians with high vs low LAI use ranked product attributes as the most important consideration (26% vs 13%; P < .01). Across subgroups, multiple injection site options, small/on par needle, and price made at least two-thirds of clinicians somewhat/much more likely to use a particular LAI, and 63%-82% of clinicians reported being somewhat/much more likely to select an LAI dosed once monthly or less often vs 6%-11% being somewhat/much more likely to select an LAI dosed once every 2 weeks.

Conclusions: Overall, results from DECIDE provide insight into the decision-making process of psychiatric clinicians when selecting an LAI and highlight opportunities to help clinicians deliver optimal care for patients with schizophrenia.