OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to investigate gender difference in empathic ability and recognition of facial emotion expression in schizophrenic patients. METHODS: Twenty-two schizophrenic outpatients (11 men and 11 women) and controls (10 men and 12 women) performed both the scale of Empathic Quotient (EQ) and facial emotion recognition test. We compared the scores of EQ and the facial emotion recognition test among each group according to diagnosis and gender. RESULTS: We found a significant sex difference in the scores of EQ and the facial emotion recognition test in the schizophrenic patients. And there were significantly negative correlation between the score of the facial emotion recognition test and the scores of Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) in female schizophrenic patients. However, in male schizophrenic patients, there were no significant correlations between the score of each test and the scores of PANSS. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the sex difference in empathic ability and facial emotion recognition would be very important in chronic schizophrenic patients. Investigation of sex effects in empathic ability and facial emotion recognition in chronic schizophrenic patients would present an important solution for constructing optimal rehabilitation program.
Diagnosis ; Empathy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Outpatients ; Rehabilitation ; Schizophrenia ; Sex Characteristics

PURPOSE: This study investigated the effects of a recovery education program on rehabilitation motivation, symptoms, and function for schizophrenic patients. METHOD: The study employed a quasi-experimental design. Participants for the study were 27 patients with schizophrenia, 14 in the experimental group and the other 13 in the control group. Data were analyzed by using the SPSS/WIN 11.5 program with Fisher's exact test, t-test, and Repeated measures ANOVA. RESULTS: After a 7 week intervention, participants in the recovery education program group reported increased rehabilitation motivation and function scores, which was significantly different from those in the control group. CONCLUSION: A recovery education program was effective improving rehabilitation motivation and function for schizophrenic patients. Therefore, this program is recommended as a rehabilitation strategy for schizophrenic patients.
Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Motivation ; *Patient Education as Topic ; Recovery of Function ; Schizophrenia/diagnosis/*rehabilitation

OBJECTIVES: Severe mental illness is a major risk factor for suicide. This study aimed to identify characteristics of patients who died by suicide among subjects who had been received service from a community mental health center. METHODS: We searched individuals who had committed suicide in Gwangju Bukgu Community Mental Health Center since 2006. Sociodemographic and clinical data were gathered from medical records and their case managers and they were compared with those of general members in the center. Characteristics of schizophrenia patients who died by suicide were particularly summarized. RESULTS: Twelve person committed suicide between 2006 and 2016. The characteristics of those who died by suicide were male (67%), diagnosis of schizophrenia (75%), aged below 50 (83%), unemployed (92%), past history of psychiatric hospitalization (100%), recent admission within 3 months (67%), past history of suicidal attempt (78%), family history of schizophrenia (58%), poor adherence to medication (58%), and use of daily rehabilitation program (42%). Ten out of twelve (83%) showed warning sign for suicide. All identified method of suicide in patients with schizophrenia was jumping from high building. Many patients with schizophrenia, who committed suicide, suffered from comorbid depressive symptoms (67%) and auditory hallucination (78%). CONCLUSION: Case managers should pay attention to and carefully manage individuals who showed suicidal warning, particularly with risk factors for suicide, such as unemployment, admission state or recent discharge from psychiatric hospital, poor adherence to medication, family history of schizophrenia, and a history of suicidal attempt.
Case Management ; Depression ; Diagnosis ; Gwangju ; Hallucinations ; Hospitalization ; Hospitals, Psychiatric ; Humans ; Male ; Medical Records ; Mental Health* ; Methods ; Rehabilitation ; Risk Factors ; Schizophrenia ; Suicide* ; Unemployment

OBJECTIVES: Severe mental illness is a major risk factor for suicide. This study aimed to identify characteristics of patients who died by suicide among subjects who had been received service from a community mental health center. METHODS: We searched individuals who had committed suicide in Gwangju Bukgu Community Mental Health Center since 2006. Sociodemographic and clinical data were gathered from medical records and their case managers and they were compared with those of general members in the center. Characteristics of schizophrenia patients who died by suicide were particularly summarized. RESULTS: Twelve person committed suicide between 2006 and 2016. The characteristics of those who died by suicide were male (67%), diagnosis of schizophrenia (75%), aged below 50 (83%), unemployed (92%), past history of psychiatric hospitalization (100%), recent admission within 3 months (67%), past history of suicidal attempt (78%), family history of schizophrenia (58%), poor adherence to medication (58%), and use of daily rehabilitation program (42%). Ten out of twelve (83%) showed warning sign for suicide. All identified method of suicide in patients with schizophrenia was jumping from high building. Many patients with schizophrenia, who committed suicide, suffered from comorbid depressive symptoms (67%) and auditory hallucination (78%). CONCLUSION: Case managers should pay attention to and carefully manage individuals who showed suicidal warning, particularly with risk factors for suicide, such as unemployment, admission state or recent discharge from psychiatric hospital, poor adherence to medication, family history of schizophrenia, and a history of suicidal attempt.
Case Management ; Depression ; Diagnosis ; Gwangju ; Hallucinations ; Hospitalization ; Hospitals, Psychiatric ; Humans ; Male ; Medical Records ; Mental Health* ; Methods ; Rehabilitation ; Risk Factors ; Schizophrenia ; Suicide* ; Unemployment

OBJECTIVES: The purposes of the study were to assess the unmet needs of the chronic mental ill in low income class living in community and to provide basic data for developing services and programs in community mental health. METHODS: Face to face interviews were done for the subjects (n=320) who were diagnosed as schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, and bipolar I disorder. The Korean version of Camberwell Assessment of Need Short Appraisal Scale (CANSAS) was used as the assessment tool of the needs. Frequencies and rates of met needs and unmet needs of each 22 items of CANSAS were estimated. We classified 22 items into six need areas by operational definition, and then estimated mean percentages of unmet needs and met needs for each 6 need areas. We also classified subjects into 2 groups by the presence of psychiatric care needs, and then estimated mean percentage of unmet needs for other 5 need areas according to psychiatric care needs. RESULTS: Among the respondents, 77.7% of them had no spouses, and 66.4% had the education of six years and over. Of the respondents, 53.8% were males, 46.2% females. And 74.3% used medical aid in social security. Most respondents did not have present occupations and persons who were living with their parents were 48.3% and persons living alone reached 8%. The diagnosis of schizophrenia was 60.9%, major depressive disorder 15.2%, respectively. Most respondents (73.6%) had been admitted to the hospitals, but they hardly used rehabilitation services or programs during the daytimes. In estimating the unmet needs for each 22 items of CANAS, the need of company of others was the highest and that of welfare benefit and daytime activity were next. Information for treatment, intimate relationship, psychological distress, money, and psychotic symptoms follow the order. The mean percentages of unmet needs for each 6 needs area were 29.5% for income needs, 26.9% for social relation needs, 17.0% for physical care needs, 14.2% for psychiatric care needs, 11.6% for daily living skill needs, and 9.6% for residency needs. We classified subjects into 2 groups by the presence of psychiatric care needs: 49% of the subjects had no psychiatric care needs and 51% had psychiatric care needs. The group that had psychiatric care needs also had higher mean percentage of unmet need in 5 other needs areas than group that had no psychiatric care needs. And these results showed statistically significant except residency needs area. CONCLUSION: When preparing services or programs in community mental health, occupational rehabilitation and social support should be included as basic services. Other services such as physical treatment, psychiatric treatment, social skill training, and residency could be considered as optional.
Surveys and Questionnaires ; Depressive Disorder, Major ; Diagnosis ; Education ; Female ; Humans ; Internship and Residency ; Male ; Mental Health ; Mentally Ill Persons* ; Needs Assessment* ; Occupations ; Parents ; Rehabilitation ; Schizophrenia ; Social Security ; Spouses

OBJECTIVE: This study was to explore the use patterns of antipsychotic drugs in schizophrenic patients who registered at the day rehabilitation programs in mental health centers. METHODS: The sociodemographic and clinical data for individual patients registered at the day rehabilitation programs in 16 mental health centers were gathered from the questionnaires reported by patients and mental health center workers, respectively. Schizophrenic patients were divided into the two groups, the conventional antipsychotics group and the atypical antipsychotics group, in order to identify the selection factors for the prescription of antipsychotic drugs among the sociodemographic characteristics and clinical variables. RESULTS: Three hundred forty seven chronic mentally ill patients had been registered at day rehabilitation programs of 16 mental health centers in year 2002. Among them, 301 patients had the diagnosis of schizophrenia with more male patients than female patients as 58.8% vs 41.2%. The patients aged in twenties and thirties were 78.4% and 52.5% of the patients reported the high school as the educational background. Two hundred forty nine (82.7%) patients were unmarried so that their caretakers were mostly parents and their medical health services were covered by national health insurance in 73.7% of the patients. And 288 schizophrenic patients (95.7%) administered antipsychotic drugs as the drug of treatment. One hundred sixty individuals (53.2%) of the schizophrenic patients administered atypical antipsychotic drugs. The patients in the atypical antipsychotics group were younger in average ages, had the shorter duration of illness, visited secondary or tertiary psychiatric facilities more and used anticholinergics or anxiolytics less than those in conventional antipsychotics group. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that two sociodemographic variables of medical health services and psychiatric facilities might influence the prescription of antipsychotic drugs, conventional or atypical. And medical health services were inter-related with age and duration of illness.
Anti-Anxiety Agents ; Antipsychotic Agents ; Cholinergic Antagonists ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Health Services ; Humans ; Male ; Mental Health* ; Mentally Ill Persons ; National Health Programs ; Parents ; Prescriptions ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Rehabilitation* ; Schizophrenia ; Single Person