خود مدیریتی در میان مردم چین مبتلا به اسکیزوفرنی و مراقبان آنها: مطالعه کیفی

ACCORDING TO CLARK et al. (1991), living with a chronic illness, including schizophrenia requires self-management to facilitate well-being, to decrease the effects of the illness and to limit disease progression. Several studies have demonstrated that if people with chronic disease avoid self-management and are not actively involved in their own care, positive clinical outcomes are difficult or impossible to achieve (Marks, Allegrante, & Lorig, 2005).

This study explores the practice of self-management in Chinese people with schizophrenia and their caregivers. Twenty-one patients and 14 caregivers were interviewed. Four themes were identified, reflecting the practice of self-management from both the patients' and caregivers' perspective: managing medication, monitoring and dealing with symptoms, maintaining social relations, and seeking health information and maintaining medical appointments. In general, self-management practices among Chinese people with schizophrenia were not optimal. This study highlights the importance of developing and implementing family-based self-management programs for Chinese people with schizophrenia and their family in order to enhance their self-management abilities and improve care outcomes.

The current study revealed that self-management practices among Chinese people with schizophrenia were not optimal, although patients claimed to understand the importance of self-management and in fact took on some self-management activities. Almost all patients had medication non-adherent experiences. The majority of patients required family involvement in symptom monitoring. Many patients used passive or even dangerous strategies to cope with symptoms. In terms of maintaining social relationships, most of the patients felt that they had no such chance even though they were eager to interact with other people. Finally, most of the patients complained of lack of a sufficient and reliable health resources. Our study highlights the importance of developing and implementing family-based self-management programs for Chinese people with schizophrenia and their families in order to enhance their self-management abilities and improve care outcomes in this population.