مجله علمی دانشگاه علوم پزشکی کردستان (Jan 2022)
Effectiveness of Psychiatric Home-Care in the Treatment Outcome in Newly Discharged Patients with Schizophrenia- A Randomized Control Trial
Abstract
Background and Aim: Schizophrenia is a disabling disorder with a complex and chronic nature. Home-visit is a recent approach used for the treatment of the patients with schizophrenia. This study aimed to investigate and compare the effect of this approach on the severity of symptoms, length and duration of hospitalization between the patients with schizophrenia and patients in the control group. Materials and Methods: This was a randomized control trial. Among the discharged patients, 26 met our inclusion criteria. After informed consent, they were placed into intervention and control groups. The intervention group received after-care services for one year. The control group did not receive any intervention except for their pharmacological treatment. The number of hospitalizations and mean duration of hospitalizations of the patients along with the Positive and Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia Scale (PANSS) were evaluated three times (before the intervention, 6 months and also 12 months after receiving the intervention). Using SPSS 20, data were analyzed, by descriptive methods and repeated measures analysis of variance. Results: This study included 26 persons (19 male, 7 Female) with mean age of 37.6 years and SD =12.2, which showed no significant differences in the variables in the baseline data. Results of statistical analysis showed significant decrease in all of the three variables in the intervention group compared with those in the control group. These changes maintained during the one-year follow-up. Conclusion: Results showed that home-visit is an effective program to covers some needs of the patients with schizophrenia. It also decreased the severity of the symptoms and length of hospitalization. Increasing regular intervention program during the follow up periods can probably lead to better results.
