Community-based comprehensive intervention for people with schizophrenia in Guangzhou, China: effects on clinical symptoms, social functioning, internalized stigma and discrimination

Evans-Lacko, Sara ORCID: 0000-0003-4691-2630, Thornicroft, Graham, Li, Jie, Huang, Yuan-Guang, Ran, Mao-Sheng, Fan, Yu and Chen, Wen (2018) Community-based comprehensive intervention for people with schizophrenia in Guangzhou, China: effects on clinical symptoms, social functioning, internalized stigma and discrimination. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 34. pp. 21-30. ISSN 1876-2018

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Abstract

Comprehensive interventions including components of stigma and discrimination reduction in schizophrenia in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are lacking. We developed a community-based comprehensive intervention to evaluate its effects on clinical symptoms, social functioning, internalized stigma and discrimination among patients with schizophrenia. A randomized controlled trial including an intervention group (n = 169) and a control group (n = 158) was performed. The intervention group received comprehensive intervention (strategies against stigma and discrimination, psycho-education, social skills training and cognitive behavioral therapy) and the control group received face to face interview. Both lasted for nine months. Participants were measured at baseline, 6 months and 9 months using the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness scale (ISMI), Discrimination and Stigma Scale (DISC-12), Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), Schizophrenia Quality of Life Scale (SQLS), Self-Esteem Scale (SES), Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and PANSS negative scale (PANSS-N). Insight and medication compliance were evaluated by senior psychiatrists. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test. Linear Mixed Models were used to show intervention effectiveness on scales. General Linear Mixed Models with multinomial logistic link function were used to assess the effectiveness on medication compliance and insight. We found a significant reduction on anticipated discrimination, BPRS and PANSS-N total scores, and an elevation on overcoming stigma and GAF in the intervention group after 9 months. These suggested the intervention may be effective in reducing anticipated discrimination, increasing skills overcoming stigma as well as improving clinical symptoms and social functioning in Chinese patients with schizophrenia.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://www.asianjournalofpsychiatry.com/
Additional Information:	© 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Divisions:	Personal Social Services Research Unit
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA1001 Forensic Medicine. Medical jurisprudence. Legal medicine
Date Deposited:	18 Apr 2018 11:54
Last Modified:	18 Apr 2024 07:54
Projects:	201607010383, 20161A031002, RP-PG-0606-1053
Funders:	Guangzhou Science Technology and Innovation Commission, Health and Family planning Commission of Guangzhou Municipality, National Institute for Health Research
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/87521

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