Pharmacogenomics to optimise psychotropic prescribing: a survey of mental health professionals’ perceptions, knowledge, and educational needs
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: A survey was conducted to determine attitudes, knowledge, and educational needs of mental health professionals regarding pharmacogenomics. We recruited 128 clinicians working in mental health in England, and we assessed their experiences using an adapted version of the "U-PGx Clinician's Questionnaire". Responding clinicians had positive attitudes towards pharmacogenomics testing, although they lacked confidence in ordering and interpreting tests, for which most had never received any formal training. Only 6% of clinicians answered all 4 knowledge testing questions correctly, and barriers to clinical implementation included lack of familiarity and knowledge for several pharmacogenomics concepts, such as drug metabolism and genetics, as well as needing support from their working institution. Looking ahead, we found that accredited workshops and patient cases were preferred learning formats, and we suggest tailored education programmes to enable mental health professionals to apply pharmacogenomics in clinical practice.
Source: The Pharmacogenomics Journal
Authors: Daniele Panconesi, Stephen Murtough, Marius Cotic, Noushin Saadullah Khani, Lauren Varney, Maria Richards-Brown, Rosemary Abidoph, Daisy Mills, Alvin Richards-Belle, Jazmin Molai, James Fenwick, Joanna Curwen, Matthew Allin, Alex Berry, Magdalana Barczyk, Stefania Bonaccorso, Rebecca Griffiths, Massimo Bernini, Ajai Kumar, Suruthy Senthilkumar, Yogita Dawda, Rajvinder Shokkar, Rosie Murdoch, Jamie Crane, Yousuf Rahimi, Myles Howard, Alison Welfare-Wilson, Agostina Secchi, Carmel Thomas, Bethany Pastor, Parveen Sharma, Georgy Pius, Rashad Nazir, Asif Mir, Jack Cheshire, Rhianne Bostock, Simon Gibbon, Pratima Singh, Chetan Shah, Sabrina Richards, Sai-Bo Cheung, Louise Rowe-Leete, Anita Jibero, Rebecca Cox, Philip Van Driel, Elvira Bramon
Institutions: North London NHS Foundation Trust, University College London, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust, Taunton & Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
Language: English
Subfield: Pharmacology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,890
OpenAlex ID: W7124897568