Shared Decision Making and Serious Mental Illness

This study examined medication decision making by 84 persons with serious mental illness, specifically examining relationships among perceived coercion, decisional capacity, preferences for involvement and actual participation, and the outcomes of medication adherence and quality of life (QoL). Multiple and logistic regression analysis were used in this cross-sectional, descriptive study, controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, and utilization variables. Appreciation was positively related to medication adherence behaviors for the past 6 months. Women, older individuals, and those living independently were more likely to have taken all their medications over the past 6 months. Neither client participation, preference, nor preference–participation agreement was found to be associated with better medication adherence or QoL.