Clinical Factors Associated with Better Quality of Life in a Seriously Mentally Ill Population
Published in: Hospital and Community Psychiatry, v. 43, No. 8, 1992, p. 794-798
Posted on RAND.org on January 01, 1992
Describes the quality of life of patients with schizophrenia in rural Mississippi. It found that self-reports of better quality of life were associated with fewer depressive symptoms, fewer medication side effects, and better family interactions. It suggests that clinical interventions to improve quality of life in this population should include family, psycho-educational programs, and better detection, evaluation, and treatment of depressive symptoms and side effects of medication. This finding is slightly different from the orthodox medical viewpoints, which pay attention to the presence of symptoms produced by schizophrenia and how they can be ameliorated. The work from this study could be used to design intervention studies.
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