Effect of synthetic intervention on schizophrenic outpatients re-entry community

Objective To investigate the effect of synthetic intervention on community re-entry of outpatients with schizophrenia. Methods Two hundred and eighty-four patients were randomly assigned to the intervention group (n=143) and the control group (n=141). The participants in the intervention group received mental health education, medication consultation, skill training and family-based psychological intervention for 1 year.The control group was followed up through clinic visits.At baseline, half a year and the end of the year, all the subjects completed the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS) and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Results The scores of SSRS and PANSS at baseline were not significantly different between the two groups.At the end of the year, the score of SSRS (32.85±12.18), the objective support subscale (9.15±4.18), the subjective support subscale (16.92±7.34) and the support utility subscale (6.77±2.09) in the intervention group were significantly increased when compared with the control group (31.05±8.35, 7.77±4.36, 13.46±7.87, 6.23±2.12, all P<0.05). The score of PANSS (38.88±9.58), the positive subscale (7.40±1.12), the negative subscale (11.32±5.92) and the general psychopathology subscale (20.16±5.19) in the intervention group showed significant difference with the control group (46.88±16.37, 8.60±3.19, 13.52±7.81, 24.76±8.08, all P<0.01). At the end of the year, the relapse of psychotic symptoms in the intervention and the control group was 18.18% and 34.75%, respectively (χ2=10.03, P<0.01). Conclusion The study results suggest that synthetic intervention could be effective for schizophrenic outpatients in community re-entry. Key words: Schizophrenia; Intervention studies; Community health services