Measuring the effectiveness of psychoeducation on adherence,depression, anxiety and stress among patients with diagnosis of schizophrenia. a control trial

Despite evidence of the impact of depression and stress on attitudes towards medication in general medical pathology regimens, little is known of the effects of depression and stress on attitudes towards medication in schizophrenia. This study explores the effects of a hope-based psychoeducation on attitudes towards medication, depression, anxiety and stress, and predictors of attitudes towards medication. The participants in the study (n = 29) were randomly allocated to either the psychoeducation group or the control group. Results from the psychoeducation group revealed that attitudes towards medication were significantly improved and anxiety was significantly reduced. Given the small sample, which was recruited from among patients of a day mental health centre, findings should be interpreted tentatively. Being longer in pharmacotherapy, having experienced fewer occurrences of hospitalisation, and being less depressed predicted positivity towards medication. Patients in the control group did not exhibit significant change in any of the studied variables. Findings were interpreted in the light of research on stigma and insight into illness, and add modestly to literature arguing for the importance of patients’ retention of hope, empowerment and sense of control over illness. This study proposed that psychoeducation is an appropriate intervention to address a wide range of factors that compound adherence to medication and patients’ symptoms, such as patients’ interpretations of causal models, their sense of hope and control over the illness, and their insight into illness and self-stigma.