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This page is an AI-assisted Turkish summary of the study presented at the 26th World Congress of Psychiatry. The study belongs to the presenting authors; please refer to the original source when citing it.

Sleep medication prescribing patterns across a group of acute mental health units and home treatment teams in the United Kingdom

Sleep medication prescription patterns in a sample of acute mental health units and home treatment teams in the uk

Prescribing for insomnia in acute mental health services varies considerably among physicians, with promethazine and Z-drugs being the most commonly used medications.

The study aimed to investigate prescribing practices for insomnia among physicians working in acute mental health services in the southwest of the United Kingdom and to compare the findings with patterns reported in other European countries. It notes that sleep problems are common among people with mental illness and can adversely affect recovery and treatment outcomes. However, prescribing for insomnia in acute mental health settings remains underreported, which may reflect limited training in sleep medicine and the pharmacological management of insomnia. A cross-sectional survey was conducted, asking physicians about their prescribing preferences across a series of clinical scenarios; a similar survey recently conducted in Sweden enabled cross-country comparisons. Considerable variation in prescribing practices was identified, with a range of medications used to manage insomnia. Decisions were influenced by clinical experience, local practice, perceived effectiveness, and patient-specific factors. The most frequently prescribed medications were promethazine and Z-drugs. Prescribing patterns were broadly consistent with those in the Swedish study across most clinical scenarios, although differences were observed in some medication preferences, and variation was also identified according to clinicians’ level of experience. The authors state that sleep medicine and insomnia management should receive greater emphasis in training, and that further research and education are needed to develop clearer clinical guidance.

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