SUSTAIN: Managing the hunger side effects of antipsychotics

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Supporting service users to manage antipsychotic induced hunger: co-development and refinement of a non-pharmacological intervention

  • IRAS ID

    312961

  • Contact name

    Penny Bee

  • Contact email

    penny.e.bee@manchester.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    The University of Manchester

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    1 years, 7 months, 28 days

  • Research summary

    Background:
    People who are prescribed antipsychotics report that they often experience changes in their hunger, appetite, or the extent to which they feel satisfied after a meal. They also say that these experiences feel very different to usual hunger and are much harder to control. We want to understand this experience of hunger and to identify support options to help people manage it.

    Aim:
    To develop a non-medication support-package to help service users manage the hunger side-effects of antipsychotics.

    Mixed Methods:
    In phase 1, we will first conduct semi-structured interviews with up to 30 mental health service users. We will then conduct focus groups with up to 30 carers and focus groups with up to 30 mental health and social care professionals. These will help us to understand people’s perspectives and experiences of hunger side-effects, their preferred support options, and their ideas around how a support-package might be designed and delivered. Alongside this work, we will conduct a national survey to further ascertain the nature and scale of these hunger side-effects.
    In phase 2, we will run workshops where we will aim to seek agreement on the content, format, and delivery of the support-package.

    Contribution:
    We aim to devise a support-package that will be acceptable to service users, carers, and health professionals, in managing the hunger side-effects of antipsychotics. Our next steps would be to obtain further funding to test whether the support-package is feasible and clinically and cost effective.

    Funder:
    NIHR Applied Research Collaboration – Greater Manchester (ARC-GM)

  • REC name

    North West - Greater Manchester Central Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    22/NW/0318

  • Date of REC Opinion

    30 Nov 2022

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion