A STUDY ON QOL OF PATIENTS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA

—— Comparison between the QOLs of inpatients and their community-dwelling counterparts ——

Abstract

Currently, schizophrenic patients are encouraged to receive home based medical care. The belief is that understanding of the QOL of these patients who were moved from hospitals to their communities while receiving care will serve as references to evaluate the policies currently being promoted and to implement home based medical care within the framework of psychiatry.
In the current study, EQ-5D, a comprehensive QOL scale, and QOLI, a psychiatric disease-specific scale, were employed. The differences between the QOLs of the inpatient group and the regional patients were clearly delineated and the significance of the regional medical care programs was discussed. The survey was conducted between October 2005 and June 2006, during which 107 patients who satisfied the criteria (68 inpatients and 39 outpatients) were interviewed.
The results of the survey indicated that among the inpatients, assurance of privacy was considered to be one of the major factors related to an improved QOL. Among the regional patients, residents of group homes, in comparison with other subgroups, showed a greater degree of being satisfied with their life, indicating that group homes are perhaps the best environment for the patients to settle down after discharge from hospitals.