Effect of self-management training on adherence to medications among community residents with chronic schizophrenia: a singleblind randomized controlled trial in Shanghai, China

BACKGROUND: Many community dwelling individuals with schizophrenia do not take medications regularly and, thus, are prone to frequent relapses. AIM: Evaluate the effectiveness of self-management training on adherence to medications and relapse among individuals with chronic schizophrenia living in the community. METHODS: A total of 201 individuals with chronic schizophrenia living in the urban and rural communities of Shanghai Municipality were randomized into a treatment as usual control group (n=98) or a selfmanagement intervention group (n=103) that received weekly self-management skills training for 6 months followed by 24 months of monthly group booster sessions in which a community health worker reviewed patients’ self-management checklists. Two psychiatrists blind to the treatment status of patients, assessed adherence to medications using the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale and patients’ insight into their illness using the Scale to Assess Unawareness of Mental Disorders (SAUMD) at baseline and 30 months after baseline. A total of 194 individuals (95.6%) completed the study. RESULTS: There were no differences between groups at baseline, but after 30 months the intervention group had significantly better medication compliance, significantly greater insight into their illness, and (by self-report) were using significantly higher dosages of antipsychotic medication. Only 2 (1.9%) of the 103 intervention group participants relapsed (i.e., experienced one or more re-hospitalizations) over the 30 months of follow-up, but 14 (14.3%) of the 98 control group subjects relapsed (X(2)=8.83, p=0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Given the large sample size, relatively long follow-up, randomized design, and single-blind evaluation of outcomes the dramatic reduction in relapse and improvements in medication adherence and insight identified in this study are robust findings. These results extended our previous findings, which demonstrated the benefit of self-management training on improving the symptoms and social functioning of individuals with chronic schizophrenia living in the community. Cost-benefit studies are now needed to assess the feasibility of up-scaling this self-management intervention to a wide range of communities.