Patient Preferences, Risks, and Benefits in Schizophrenia Treatment

This report, focusing on the psychological condition of schizophrenia, explores patient preferences related to antipsychotic treatments. The report begins with background information on schizophrenia, a major psychotic disorder characterized by behavioral and cognitive changes. It highlights the variability of symptoms and the prevalence of the condition, along with the common use of antipsychotics in treatment. The core of the report reviews a study by Levitan et al. (2015), which quantified patient preferences regarding the benefits and risks of different treatment approaches. The study, based on a survey of 271 patients, identified key preferences such as complete symptom improvement, the elimination of hyperglycemic conditions, and improved social functioning. The report emphasizes the importance of balancing treatment benefits with potential adverse effects and the avoidance of relapse, providing valuable insights into patient-centered care in schizophrenia treatment.

Running head: PSYCHOLOGY
PSYCHOLOGY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Background..........................................................................................................................2
Review.................................................................................................................................3
References............................................................................................................................4

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Background
Schizophrenia is known to be one of the major psychotic disorders that are faced by the
human beings. This psychotic disorder is often characterized by the amount of changes that are
demonstrated by the human being in their behavior, feelings, judgement, the ideation,
motivational factors, the perceptions and the thought processes that have been depicted by the
concerned human being who has been suffering from the psychological condition of
schizophrenia. The symptoms of the disease generally depict the manifestation of the problems
in a heterogeneous manner. The schizophrenia patients are often recognized through the
variability of the symptom depiction that they might display from time to time. The article states
the fact that there are very low chances that the person might face schizophrenia on a life-long
prevalence. The article further states that schizophrenia has been reported among 11.1 cases
among the 100,000 cases that have occurred in the United States. The treatment of the
psychological condition of schizophrenia is known to have been involving the antipsychotics in a
number of cases. The implementation of the antipsychotics in the treatment of the schizophrenics
might require the proper maintenance of the balance between the minimization of the adverse
effects of the treatment methods and the alleviation of the several symptoms that are depicted by
the concerned person who have been diagnosed with the psychological issue. The treatment
benefits that are desired refer to the avoiding relapse of the conditions that have been detected
within the concerned person. The article in discussion deals with the factors that are related to
the quantification of the preferences of the patients who have been suffering from schizophrenia.
The article aims to shed light on the issues that are related to the benefits as well as the risks that
are posed by the anti-psychotic treatments that are implemented in order to treat the patients who
have been suffering from schizophrenia.

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Review
Levitan et al. (2015) in the article entitled “Patients’ Preferences Related to Benefits,
Risks, and Formulations of Schizophrenia Treatment” attempts a discussion on the issues that are
related to the quantification of the preferences as depicted by the patients on the risks and the
benefits of the antipsychotic treatments that are implemented in the treatment of the patients who
have been suffering from the psychological conditions of schizophrenia. The article further aims
to assess the relative importance of the various processes of the treatments that are meted out to
the given patients. The study majorly focusses on the adherence to the treatment and the
attributes to the concerned treatment processes (Levitan et al., 2015). The article in discussion
attempted to deal with the preferences of the residents of the United States in treatment
procedures as prescribed by the concerned physicians.
The concerned article is based on the results as discussed by the people who had
participated in the survey. The final sample study that formed the basis of the study included the
responses of nearly 271 patients (Levitan et al., 2015). The results stated that the most preferred
outcome referred to the complete improvement in the conditions that are faced by the people
who were suffering from schizophrenia. The major findings of the article state the patients
preferred the elimination of the hyperglycemic conditions as well as a visible improvement in the
negative impacts that are associated with the schizophrenia. The other preferred outcomes
included the reduction in the weight gain on the part of the patient and the improvement in the
social functioning of the concerned patient (Levitan et al., 2015). The article concludes on the
note that the major judgmental factor that has been the improvement that is faced by the patients
in the positive symptoms that should have resulted from the treatment that the patients have been
undergoing.

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References
Levitan, B., Markowitz, M., Mohamed, A. F., Johnson, F. R., Alphs, L., Citrome, L., & Bridges,
J. F. (2015). Patients’ preferences related to benefits, risks, and formulations of
schizophrenia treatment. Psychiatric Services, 66(7), 719-726.