Staff Attitudes Related to Antipsychotic Prescribing in Assisted Living

Assisted living (AL) provides the majority of residential long-term care in the United States. Almost 40% of AL residents display behaviors such as aggression and refusing care, 57% of whom receive medications for these behaviors. In nursing homes, concerns about inappropriate antipsychotic prescribing led to initiatives to reduce prescribing, and although there has been concern regarding similar prescribing in AL, there has been no such action to date. A potential target to reduce prescribing is influencing attitudes toward the use of pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatments, given evidence of a significant association between attitudes favoring medications and actual prescribing. This study examined the relationship between attitudes of AL health care supervisors and prescribing. These supervisors are responsible for health care oversight in AL, and although they are not responsible for prescribing, they are in a position to influence prescribing.