Abstract
This study investigates the effects of outreach service by an occupational therapist on a patient's social functioning and quality of life. The subject of this study is a patient who suffers from severe schizophrenia and has been withdrawn from society for four years. The outreach service was conducted for four months using the Management Tool for Daily Life Performance (MTDLP). The MTDLP, developed by The Japanese Association of Occupational Therapists, is an intervention tool used in occupational therapy and is a support method that focuses on finding meaningful daily activities for the patient. The MTDLP consists of a series of processes that include acquiring information about the patient's meaningful daily activities, assessment, planning, and intervention. In this study, using the MTDLP, the OT asked the patient about her desired daily life performance, which revealed that the patient would have liked to work. The OT devised a multidisciplinary plan using the MTDLP, which evaluated and intervened at the patient's workplace. As a result, the patient was able to work at the Supported Employment Workshop. Furthermore, the patient's scores on the Global Assessment of Functioning, the Social Functioning Scale, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life 26 improved significantly after the intervention. These results suggest that performing the meaningful daily activities can subsequently improve the social functioning and quality of life. In addition, cooperation between medical and welfare workers in job support for patients with schizophrenia is important.
