Patients' perceptions and knowledge of electroconvulsive therapy

Psychiatric BulletinPublished 1 April 1989Open access

Katy Malcolm

DOI10.1192/pb.13.4.161

Citations30

TL;DR

One hundred patients from the Northern General Hospital and Middlewood Hospital, Sheffield, who were due to receive ECT were interviewed by the author before and after treatment using a semi-struc tured interview based on a questionnaire.

Abstract

Most research on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has focused on technical aspects, such as indications for treatment, efficacy, side effects of treatment, and theories of mechanism of action. Little investigation has been made of the attitudes and experience of patients receiving ECT and less regarding patients' understanding and knowledge of this treatment. Earlier studies have looked at specific aspects of patients' perceptions of ECT, such as subjective side effects, (Gomez, 1975), or the effect of the media on attitudes towards ECT (Bird, 1979). Other studies have investigated these and related issues more comprehensively (Freeman & Kendell, 1980; Hughes et al , 1980). These studies were carried out some time after the ECT course had been completed; in some cases, over a year. It may be that patients' perception and knowledge of ECT are different before and after treatment. Attitudes and knowledge may also change or fade over time.

Keywords

Medicine

The British Journal of PsychiatryECT: I. Patients' Experiences and Attitudes

202 Citations1980C. P. Freeman, R. E. Kendell

Patients who had ECT in either 1971 or 1976 found ECT a helpful treatment and not particularly frightening, but side-effects, especially memory impairment, were frequent.

Australian & New Zealand Journal of PsychiatryECT: Misconceptions and Attitudes

77 Citations1982Ray Kerr, John J. McGrath +2 more

Less fear of the procedure was expressed by those given the treatment and those who had the treatment explained to them by a doctor, and fewer misconceptions occurred among those who were more highly educated or had experience of ECT either personally or via a visited friend or relative.

Journal of the Royal Society of MedicineAre Patients Shocked by ECT?

74 Citations1981Jennifer Hughes, B. M. Barraclough +1 more

Patients treated with electroconvulsive therapy for severe mental illness were asked their opinions about ECT: 83% considered they had improved as a result of the treatment and 81% would have it again.

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The British Journal of PsychiatrySubjective Side-Effects of ECT

58 Citations1975Joan Gomez

The incidence of side-effects present 24 hours after electroconvulsive therapy was studied in 96 patients who between them received 500 treatments in a consecutive series: headache was experienced after 2·6 per cent and subjective memory impairment after 3 per cent of treatments.

International Journal of Clinical PracticeANTIDEPRESSANTS IN THE ELDERLY

14 Citations1997HFK Chiu

There is evidence to support the superiority of ECT and combination antipsychotic/antidepressant treatment over antidepressant alone, and the need for a lower dose in the elderly is less certain for the secondary amine TCAs.

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BMJTreatment of early breast cancer.

9 Citations1972R. S. Murley

The journey to eradicate congenitaly acquired rubella is only beginning and further research into the selection of suitable candidate vaccine strains and the immune responses they induce is required.

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The use of electroconvulsive therapy in elderly depressive patients

2 Citations1989Katy Malcolm, Malcolm Peet

Though widely used and extensively investigated, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remains a controversial treatment and attempts on the one hand to ban ECT, and on the other hand to the indiscriminate and uncritical overuse of ECT.