PHYSICIANSʼ ATTITUDES TOWARD CHEMOTHERAPY AS A FACTOR IN PSYCHIATRIC PATIENTSʼ RESPONSES TO MEDICATION

Abstract

The attitudes toward tranquilizing drugs of 40 physicians from 16 hospitals participating in a nation-wide VA Cooperative Chemotherapy Project were measured by means of a questionnaire of the likert type. Those who scored above the median for this sample were designated more favorable and those who scored below the median less favorable in their attitude toward the drugs. During the 4-week fixed progressive dosage period, patients of physicians with more favorable attitudes showed significantly greater decrease in Total Morbidity score on the Lorr scale than did patients of physicians with less favorable attitudes. During the 8-week flexible dosage period, dosages prescribed by more favorable physicians tended to be higher than those prescribed by physicians with less favorable attitudes, although the differences did not quite reach the five per cent level of significance.