Newfoundland, PEI and SQLI Appropriate Use of Antipsychotics Quality Improvement Collaborative

  • Forming Teams
  • Planning Initiative
  • Launch
  • Changes Tested
  • Some Improvement
  • Improvement
  • Significant Improvement
  • Sustainable Improvement

The Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement supported the implementation of the Appropriate Use of Antipsychotics (AUA) approach to all 39 publicly funded long-term care homes in Newfoundland and Labrador, all nine publicly funded homes in Prince Edward Island, and five homes from the Seniors Quality Leap Initiative - a North American network of long-term care organizations focused on improving clinical and safety for seniors. The collaboration with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island ran from 2018 to 2019.

More than half of participating residents1 in Newfoundland and Labrador and PEI who were prescribed antipsychotics without a diagnosis of psychosis had these medications safely reduced or discontinued. This led to has improved care experiences and lives while also reducing the risk of negative health outcomes. The final results of the collaborative, which concluded in late 2019, are below.

  • In Newfoundland and Labrador, 52 percent of participating long-term care residents had their medication dosage reduced (22 percent) or discontinued entirely (30 percent)
  • In Prince Edward Island, 53 percent of participating long-term care residents had their medication dosage reduced (28 percent) or discontinued entirely (25 percent)
  • No change in physical or verbal aggressive behaviours among these residents whose antipsychotic medication was reduced or discontinued.

Participating teams are joining CFHI’s Momentum Challenge  - an invitation-only CFHI program that assists teams to expand the reach of an innovation and sustain its impact.

Following the success of the AUA collaborative in Prince Edward Island, we are working with Health PEI to spread the AUA approach across the privately funded long-term care home sectors.

The Teams

  • Newfoundland and Labrador

  • Prince Edward Island

  • Seniors Quality Leap Initiative

We are very pleased with the progress to date, and would like to thank the families and staff of all our long term care homes throughout the province for their commitment to the appropriate use of antipsychotics‎ collaborative. Their commitment, and the support from CFHI, has resulted in improvements in care and quality of life for people living in long term care. While this project has concluded, our commitment to improving outcomes in this area will continue.

-The Honourable John Haggie, 
Minister of Health and Community Services, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador (2019)
1 Of those still who were participating in the AUA program at the end of both Phase 1 and Phase 2.