[Psychoeducational intervention for schizophrenic patients and subsequent long-term ambulatory care. A four-year...

A subset of schizophrenic inpatients and families participated in an eight-sessions bifocal psychoeducational intervention, followed by treatment in a corresponding outpatient department. These patients were a part of the multicenter and randomized Münchner Psychosis-Information-Project (PIP). The course of illness in 88 patients treated in the outpatient department of the Technical University of Munich has been recorded in a 4-year follow-up study. 60% of the patients continued outpatient treatment while 40% lost contact with the outpatient department. Predictors for patient drop-out were assessed and the course of illness of both groups was compared. There was no significant difference between the relapse rate of the patients who dropped out (66%) and those who continued the long-term treatment (53%). However, within the 4-year period the drop-out patients had more than twice as many hospital days compared to the patients who maintained the outpatient treatment. The improved social adjustment and quality of life of these patients, along with the 50% reduction of readmission days demonstrates the impact of the long-term treatment in this study.