Developing a psychotropic medication education group on a secure ward for men with intellectual disabilities

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to establish and evaluate a psychotropic medication education group for men with intellectual disability on a secure psychiatric ward. Design/methodology/approach: A multi-disciplinary team was convened to oversee the project. A curriculum was developed that covered major classes of psychotropic drugs as well as broader themes related to taking medication and general wellbeing. Each group session incorporated a range of teaching methods supported by accessible materials. Evaluation was by qualitative and quantitative methods. Findings: There was interest and enthusiasm for the group. Participant feedback was generally positive and most of those who completed the group reported achieving their personal learning goals. There was no significant difference in results of a medication knowledge test at baseline and at the end of the course. Feedback from group members and reflections of the course facilitators are discussed. Research limitations/implications: The results of this small-scale study may not be applicable to other groups or settings. Evaluation measures seemed unable to capture some elements of the group processes and outcomes. Practical implications: Establishing and running a psychoeducational group on a low-secure ward for men with intellectual disabilities is possible and potentially valuable. Learning from this project will be useful for others considering group-based interventions for people with intellectual disability. Originality/value: This paper adds to the limited literature describing interventions to improve medication knowledge in people with intellectual disability