Factors of good outcome after discharge from support house (engoryou) for schizophrenia

To restore mentally disabled persons to social activities, it is necessary to establish an appropriate facility and support system according to the severity of disorder. In the present study, in an attempt to obtain a guide to identifying conditions on which the use of the support house (engoryou) is effective, patients who had been discharged from the support house were divided into different groups by evaluation at discharge. The first group consisted of 30 patients who underwent continued social rehabilitation (recovery group); the second group consisted of 25 patients with discontinued social rehabilitation (the re-hospitalization group), and their demographic factors were compared. The findings are summarized as follows: (i) the recovery group had a significantly shorter total hospitalization period and a smaller number of hospitalizations before entry into the facility, as compared to the re-hospitalization group; (ii) the recovery group was significantly better than the re-hospitalization group in terms of the score of 'thought disorder', although there was no difference in total Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) score, at the time of entry into the facility; (iii) the recovery group was better than the re-hospitalization group in terms of the Rehabilitation Evaluation Hall and Baker (REHAB) items 'speech skills' and 'self-care' at the time of entry into the facility; (iv) the re-hospitalization group experienced relapse of symptoms, mainly positive ones, at the time of the discontinuation of the use of the facility or re-admission. These findings suggest that to make good use of the support house, the improvement of thought disturbance and self-care must be managed appropriately and the prolongation of hospital stay must be prevented before entry into the facility.