Impact of socio-vocational rehabilitation on work productivity and social behavior of inpatients with chronic schizophrenia.

Background: A large proportion of persons with schizophrenia are either abandoned by their family members in mental hospitals or do not have any family members to look after them. Therefore, almost 2/3 of hospital beds are occupied by chronic schizophrenic patients. Very few beds are available for the treatment of acute mental patients who need urgent hospitalization.

Aim: To assess the impact of a comprehensive socio-vocation rehabilitation package on the work productivity and social behavior of persons with chronic schizophrenia.

Materials And Methods: Sixty chronic schizophrenic inpatients were included in the present study. Sociodemographic and clinical details were collected on a specially designed Performa for the study. Each patient was rated on a job-up-to-date form at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months after intervention. Data related to the vocational outcome were collected on the supervisor's evaluation form at the end of the first month and then after every month till the end of 6 months after intervention. The patient's social behavior was measured on the Social Behavior Schedule at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months after intervention.

Results: Significant improvement was found in the area of vocational outcomes when a comparison was made from the 1 month to the 6 month. Marked improvement was also noticed in their social behaviors after social and vocational rehabilitation.

Conclusion: The overall results suggest that chronic schizophrenic inpatients can be properly rehabilitated if opportunity is provided to them.