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RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)
Contents Vol 30(3)

Social media group support for antidepressant deprescribing: a mixed-methods survey of patient experiences

Amy Coe https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3723-7645 A * , Noor Abid https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8631-7273 A and Catherine Kaylor-Hughes https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3353-4108 A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne, Medical Bldg (181) Corner Grattan Street & Royal Parade, Melbourne, Vic. 3010, Australia.

* Correspondence to: amy.coe@unimelb.edu.au

Australian Journal of Primary Health 30, PY23046 https://doi.org/10.1071/PY23046
Submitted: 7 March 2023  Accepted: 17 April 2024  Published: 6 May 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of La Trobe University. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Background

Antidepressant use has continually increased in recent decades and although they are an effective treatment for moderate-to-severe depression, when there is no longer a clinical benefit, deprescribing should occur. Currently, routine deprescribing is not part of clinical practice and research shows that there has been an increase in antidepressant users seeking informal support online. This small scoping exercise used a mixed-methods online survey to investigate the motives antidepressant users have for joining social media deprescribing support groups, and what elements of the groups are most valuable to them.

Methods

Thirty members of two antidepressant deprescribing Facebook groups completed an online survey with quantitative and open-text response questions to determine participant characteristics and motivation for group membership. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, and open-text responses were analysed thematically through NVivo.

Results

Two overarching themes were evident: first, clinician expertise, where participants repeatedly reported a perceived lack of skills around deprescribing by their clinician, not being included in shared decision-making about their treatment, and symptoms of withdrawal during deprescribing going unaddressed. Motivated by the lack of clinical support, peer support developed as the second theme. Here, people sought help online where they received education, knowledge sharing and lived experience guidance for tapering. The Facebook groups also provided validation and peer support, which motivated people to continue engaging with the group.

Conclusions

Antidepressant users who wish to cease their medication are increasingly subscribing to specialised online support groups due to the lack of information and support from clinicians. This study highlights the ongoing need for such support groups. Improved clinician understanding about the complexities of antidepressant deprescribing is needed to enable them to effectively engage in shared decision-making with their patients.

Keywords: antidepressant, clinician, deprescribing, experiences, online, patient, peer support, withdrawal.

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