ASPIRE-Med: A mental health medicines training program

The Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability 2023 reported evidence suggesting psychotropic medicines were over-prescribed to people with intellectual and neurodevelopmental disabilities. This 4-year project is co-designing, developing and evaluating a national training program for disability support workers (DSWs) to strengthen knowledge, skills and confidence in supporting adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are prescribed psychotropic medicines. Using a participatory, stakeholder-led approach, the program will be informed by evidence reviews, learning needs analyses, focus groups, co-design activities, field testing and a large-scale feasibility trial to ensure the training is practical, accessible and relevant to real-world practice.