Chief Investigator: Associate Professor Luke Grzeskowiak

Funding Amount: $99,983

Recipient: Flinders University

Overview:

Considerable debate surrounds the widespread prescribing of psychotropic medications in young people. While these medications have the potential to help some young people affected by mental illness, evidence to support their efficacy and safety is limited. In particularly, concerns surround potential long-term harms of psychotropic medication use on child health and neurodevelopment. This study will support current efforts aimed at improving the quality of prescribing of these powerful medicines in children and adolescents by providing contemporary and comprehensive nationally representative data on current trends and predictors of psychotropic medication use, persistence and outcomes in the Australian setting.