Aging & mental health
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Aging & mental health · Sep 2014
Antipsychotic drug prescription rates among Dutch nursing homes: the influence of patient characteristics and the dementia special care unit.
To assess the differences in antipsychotic drug prescription rates in residents with dementia in dementia special care units (SCUs) of Dutch nursing homes, considering the differences in patient characteristics. ⋯ Antipsychotic drug use in nursing home residents with dementia is not only predicted by the type of dementia and patient behaviour, but it is independently associated with the dementia SCU at which the patient resides. This result indicates that antipsychotic drugs are not only prescribed for their clinical indications (agitation/aggression) but are associated with environmental factors that may reflect a specific nursing home prescribing culture.