{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,26]],"date-time":"2026-06-26T16:52:24Z","timestamp":1782492744823,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":22,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,4]],"date-time":"2026-03-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1772582400000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":3,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, Quality Use of Diagnostics, Therapeutics and Pathology Program","award":["4-KIILB9T"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["4-KIILB9T"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BMJ Open"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,18]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,3]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Overmedication of off-label use of psychotropic medicines to address behaviours of concern in people with intellectual and developmental disabilities is a major public health concern. Disability support workers (DSWs) play a pivotal role in supporting adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are prescribed psychotropic medicines. Therefore, there is an urgent need to train DSWs to help understand the appropriate use of these medicines. This paper describes the protocol of a project that aims to develop such a programme.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods and analysis<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A participatory action framework will underscore the programme and follow a Universal Design for Learning approach. It will be a co-production involving all stakeholders, including people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families, members of the disability workforce, healthcare professionals and educational designers. The programme will be developed using the following steps: (a) development of a consumer advisory committee and expert panel groups, (b) an online survey of learning needs analysis, (c) a rapid umbrella review of the relevant literature, (d) focus groups involving participants from different parts of Australia, (e) co-design events in four Australian cities, (f) field testing on 6\u201312 DSWs to determine any practical difficulties of implementing the programme, (g) a feasibility trial involving at least 1200 DSWs using a train-the-trainer model and online resources and (h) a mixed-method process evaluation using interviews of a purposive sample of trainees and online questionnaire survey.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Ethics and dissemination<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Ethics approval will be sought at each stage of the co-design process. Each step of the project will include an academic language paper and Easy Read report developed. The training programme will be shared across Australia, with DSWs able to complete the project for free. We expect the training will help improve DSWs\u2019 knowledge of appropriate psychotropic medicine prescribing in people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, confidence in effectively communicating with health professionals and using non-pharmacological approaches to support behaviours of concern, promote shared decision-making with clients, advocate for psychotropic medicine reviews by healthcare professionals, encourage positive interactions with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families and self-reflection on their own behaviour and attitude can influence their client and behaviours of concern.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2025-114351","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,4]],"date-time":"2026-03-04T13:45:25Z","timestamp":1772631925000},"page":"e114351","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["ASPIRE-Med project: a study protocol on an Australian psychotropic medicines training programme for disability support workers"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Macey","family":"Barratt","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Ageing Research and Translation, University of Canberra, Bruce, Australian Capital Territory, Australia"},{"name":"Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7370-9932","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kathryn","family":"Speer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Ageing Research and Translation, University of Canberra, Bruce, Australian Capital Territory, Australia"},{"name":"Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1300-8103","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shoumitro","family":"Deb","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College, London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michelle","family":"Bellon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Timothy","family":"Cahalan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Nursing and Health Science, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Andrea","family":"Simpson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Developmental Disability Health, Monash Health, Clayton, Victoria, Australia"},{"name":"La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia"},{"name":"Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rebecca","family":"Koncz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia"},{"name":"National Centre of Excellence in Intellectual Disability Health, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3532-0640","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bharati","family":"Limbu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College, London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mary","family":"Bushell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026062609353828000_16.3.e114351.1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"198","DOI":"10.1007\/s41252-023-00365-y","article-title":"Ethical Prescribing of Psychotropic Medications for People with Neurodevelopmental Disorders","volume":"8","author":"Deb","year":"2024","journal-title":"Adv Neurodev Disord"},{"key":"2026062609353828000_16.3.e114351.2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1186\/s12888-025-07620-7","article-title":"A whole population-based cohort study of the trajectory of the prevalence and the incidence of mental illness, challenging behaviour, and psychotropic medication prescribing in adults with intellectual disabilities in the czech republic between 2010 and 2022","volume":"25","author":"Deb","year":"2025","journal-title":"BMC Psychiatry"},{"key":"2026062609353828000_16.3.e114351.3","unstructured":"Commonwealth of Australia (CoA) . 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