Sociomedical aspects of inpatients with schizophrenia: with special reference to their recognition on the discharge, marital status and employment

Abstract

    We investigated the recognition on the discharge, the employment and the marital status of schizophrenic inpatients who had been treated with occupational therapy. The present study included 84 patients. Twenty-four (29%) patients answered that they did not hope for discharge from hospital, and most of them answered that they were satisfied with life in hospital. There was a significant difference in the age, the term of hospitalization and the duration of disease between the patients who hoped for discharge and the patients who did not hope for discharge. A close relationship existed between their anxieties about discharge and the social factors such as family, economy and job. As to marital status, 22 (26%) patients had been married. Eighteen (82%) of the married patients had experienced divorce. This high divorce rate showed that schizophrenia has negative effects on the patient's married life. In patients who hoped for employment, the proportion of patients who hoped for discharge was significantly higher than that in patients who did not hope for employment. We should deepen our understanding of sociomedical aspects of each individual schizophrenic inpatient to develop a more effective and aggressive occupational therapy.