Schizophrenia
Conditions
Keywords
medical co-morbidity, diabetes, heart disease, respiratory illness
Brief summary
This study will develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a self-management program for adults living with both schizophrenia and a co-occurring medical condition.
Detailed description
Schizophrenia is a life-long brain disorder affecting approximately 1 percent of Americans each year. Schizophrenia can be extremely disabling, causing people to hear voices, experience paranoia or hallucinations, and believe that others are controlling their thoughts. People with schizophrenia also experience increased rates of concurrent medical conditions, such as diabetes, respiratory illness, and heart disease. This can make holding a job or even caring for oneself very difficult. The purpose of this study is to develop and evaluate a self-management program for adults living with both schizophrenia and a concurrent medical condition. Participants in this open-label study will attend 10 to 16 group sessions led by two group leaders. Group sessions will meet each week for an hour during which participants will learn new skills to help them take responsibility for the daily management of chronic medical conditions. In addition to learning how to communicate more effectively with medical providers, participants will learn about healthy eating, the importance of physical activity, addictive behaviors that can worsen health conditions, and proper use of medications. Homework will be assigned weekly for participants to review skills learned in each session. After each session, participants will complete a survey to evaluate the session's effectiveness. At the end of the study, participants will attend one additional group meeting and an individual interview to discuss the overall effectiveness of the intervention and their experiences in the group sessions. The results of this study will be used to evaluate and improve the self-management program for future use.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALSelf-management program for chronic illness
Self-management program for chronic illness will include between 10 and 16 psychoeducational and supportive group sessions.
Sponsors
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
University of Maryland, Baltimore
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 64 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Meets DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder * Current documented chart diagnosis of at least one chronic medical condition * Received clinic services for a minimum of 3 months prior to study entry * English-speaking * Willing to use an effective form of birth control throughout the study if sexually active
Exclusion criteria
* History of a serious neurological disorder or head trauma with loss of consciousness * Diagnosed with mental retardation or dementia * Diagnosed with end stage organ disease * Currently receiving chemotherapy and/or radiation treatment for cancer * Received psychiatric hospitalization less than 3 months prior to study entry date * Blind and/or deaf * Pregnant * Infected with HIV with a CD4 count under 350 * Diagnosis of AIDS * Diagnosis of anorexia * Problematic substance use, as defined by a mental health provider * Psychiatric instability, as defined by a mental health provider
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Medical service use patterns | Measured at pre- and post-intervention |
| Social and communication skills during interactions with health care providers | Measured at pre- and post-intervention |
| Physical and mental health status | Measured at pre- and post-intervention |
| Health-related self-efficacy and recovery orientation | Measured at pre- and post-intervention |
| Medical illness self-management skills | Measured at pre- and post-intervention |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Amount and seriousness of related comorbidities | Measured at pre- and post-intervention |
| Quantitative and qualitative survey ratings | Measured throughout the study |
| Medication use | Measured throughout the study |
| Neurocognition | Measured at baseline |
| Substance abuse | Measured at pre- and post-intervention |
| Psychiatric symptoms | Measured at pre- and post-intervention |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed