Agreement in Assessments of Psychiatric Symptoms Between Support Workers and Patients With Schizophrenia: the Level of Concordance and Its Relationship With Patient Social Participation

Abstract

　This article examines agreement regarding assessments of psychiatric symptoms between mental health workers and patients with schizophrenia at the community level and looks at how this agreement is related to patientsʼ social participation. We conducted a questionnaire survey among patients suffering from schizophrenia and members of their treatment teams. Patients completed questionnaires that consisted of 18 self-rated psychiatric symptoms from the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), 10 social participation items, and other related questions. Members of the treatment team also assessed 18 symptom items from BPRS regarding their patients. Results showed a relatively high agreement regarding positive and emotional symptoms, and a low agreement regarding negative symptoms. In terms of the relationship between the level of agreement and social participation, the high-agreement group showed better social participation than the low-agreement group. Results indicate that communication between workers and patients needs to be improved, with a particular focus on negative symptoms, in order to promote their social participation.