Effects of an Empowerment Program for Patients with Schizophrenia.

Woo,  Ju Hyun; Jang,  Ji Hye; Cho,  Jeong Hee

doi:2018.27.2.123

J Korean Acad Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs > Volume 27(2); 2018 > Article

Original Article

Journal of Korean Academy of psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 2018;27(2):123-134.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12934/jkpmhn.2018.27.2.123 Published online July 4, 2018.

Effects of an Empowerment Program for Patients with Schizophrenia.

Ju Hyun Woo, Ji Hye Jang, Jeong Hee Cho

¹Department of Nursing, Ansan University, Ansan, Korea.
²Department of Nursing, Gangneung Yeongdong University, Gangneung, Korea. gogh0049@gmail.com
³Department of Nursing, Keyo Hospital, Uiwang, Korea.

Abstract

PURPOSE
The aim of this study was to evaluate a ‘patient empowerment program for schizophrenia (PEPS)’ to improve problem solving ability, quality of life, and mental health literacy for hospitalized patients with schizophrenia. METHODS: The study was a non-equivalent control group non-synchronized design. Study participants were recruited from a psychiatric hospital in Republic of Korea. Of 56 participants, 20 were assigned to the experimental group and 36 to the control group. Data were collected from September, 2017 to January, 2018. Data analyses included chi-squared or Fisher's exact tests, t-tests, and repeated measure ANOVA with SPSS/WIN 21.0 program. RESULTS: After participating PEPS, the experimental group showed a significant increase in quality of life and mental health literacy compared to the control group. However, there were no significant differences in problem solving ability between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Findings show that patients with schizophrenia receive benefits from PEPS in terms of quality of life and mental health literacy. However, further research is necessary to develop clinical strategies to improve their problem solving abilities.

Key Words: Schizophrenia; Psychotherapy; Power (psychology); Quality of life; Health literacy