Background and Significance of the Problem
The mental illness that is reviewed within the framework of the current paper is schizophrenia. It can be defined as a loss of the ability to care for one’s self that was caused by a series of critical disturbances that affected the individual’s emotions and reasoning (Liberman, 2012). The existing approaches to the treatment of schizophrenia commonly focus on the basic biological models that were narrowed by research so as to comply with the variables that are inherent in such mental illness as schizophrenia. Nonetheless, modern research on the subject showed that this model is mostly irrelevant, and patients with schizophrenia should be treated differently (Zou et al., 2012).
Therefore, the significance of the problem that is reviewed in this paper consists in the fact that the approaches to the treatment of schizophrenia can be optimized. This claim is also supported by the fact that despite its conventionality, the majority of psychopharmacological treatment strategies are becoming to fade away (Siantz & Aranda, 2014).
The key reason for that is their impact on the cognitive functioning of patients with schizophrenia and other negative sources of influence that trigger certain limitations interfering with the treatment process. Therefore, it is safe to say that long-term usage of schizophrenia medications bears a negative connotation due to immunity that develops in patients during the continuing intake of those medications. Moreover, the significance of the study can be explained by the insufficient justification of the positive effects of the medications mentioned above and their ability to reduce the risk of readmission (Zou et al., 2012).
Currently, one of the most prevalent recommendations is to fight the illness illiteracy inherent in the patients and their families so as to increase the efficiency of the existing patient-focused and psychosocial interventions. It is safe to say that self-management programs are expected to improve the health outcomes in patients with schizophrenia and make it easier to provide care for these patients (Liberman, 2012).
One of the requirements is the continual collaboration between all the parties that participate in the treatment process. By doing this, the health care providers will ensure that the patients are treated in an optimism-based environment, and only tools justified by research are used in practice.
Statement of the Problem and Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study is indicated by the changes that are now gradually transforming the schizophrenia treatment process (Goldberg et al., 2013). Currently, more and more research projects support the claim that self-treatment of schizophrenia is possible by means of special programs. These programs are based on the information regarding psychosocial treatment and other pivotal data concerning schizophrenia and other related mental illnesses (Cook et al., 2011).
Moreover, the problem of the current study consists of the fact that the effectiveness of pharmacological treatment reduced significantly over the last decade. Therefore, the research is intended to prove that self-management programs will provide patients with critical practical skills (Ben-Zeev, Kaiser, Brenner, Begale, & Duffecy, 2013).
These educational self-management programs become more and more popular, so it is imperative to evaluate their efficiency and define the upsides that are inherent in this schizophrenia treatment option. The researcher expects to assess the overall efficiency of self-management programs that are used to treat schizophrenia and define the core variables that may impact the effectiveness of the latter (Ben-Zeev et al., 2013). It is also important to realize that advanced technologies may become one of the main actors in the future treatment of schizophrenia, so it is crucial to support the development of applications that are aimed to facilitate the treatment process of this illness (Ben-Zeev et al., 2013).
The purpose of the study can also be supported by the fact that the viability of self-management programs will only be achieved if they are developed with all the important variables being taken into consideration (for instance, preferences, requirements, or features of the target population) (Ben-Zeev et al., 2013). Schizophrenic people will be able to use these applications, and readmission rates will be mitigated if we test the developed self-management programs in real-life conditions.
Research Questions, Hypothesis, and Variables with Operational Definitions
Research Question
- Do schizophrenia self-management programs help to reduce the readmission rates and manage schizophrenia in male and female patients aged from 18 to 65?
Hypothesis: Research and Null
- Null hypothesis – If the self-management programs are applied, there will be no statistical difference between the outcomes.
- Research hypothesis – If the self-management programs are applied, the readmission rates will be reduced, and the efficacy of schizophrenia treatment will be increased.
- Identifying and Defining Study Variables
- Independent variables – patient gender, patient age, self-management programs.
- Dependent variables – readmission rates, indicators of schizophrenia, the prevalence of schizophrenia, and efficiency of the self-management programs.
Operationalize Variables
Male and female participants aged from 18 to 65 will be exposed to the use of a self-management program intended to help them manage their schizophrenia. The researcher expects to measure the readmission rates, categorize the key indicators of schizophrenia in the chosen sample, and evaluate the efficiency of the selected self-management program on the basis of the prevalence of the indicators of schizophrenia after the experiment.
References
Ben-Zeev, D., Kaiser, S., Brenner, C., Begale, M., & Duffecy, J. (2013). Development and usability testing of FOCUS: A smartphone system for self-management of schizophrenia. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 36(4), 289-296. Web.
Cook, J. A., Copeland, M. E., Jonikas, J. A., Hamilton, M. M., Razzano, L. A., Grey, D. D.,… Boyd, S. (2011). Results of a randomized controlled trial of mental illness self-management using wellness recovery action planning. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 38(4), 881-891. Web.
Goldberg, R. W., Dickerson, F., Lucksted, A., Brown, C. H., Weber, E., Tenhula, W. N.,… Dixon, L. B. (2013). Living well: An intervention to improve self-management of medical illness for individuals with serious mental illness. Psychiatric Services, 64(1), 51-57. Web.
Liberman, R. P. (2012). Recovery from schizophrenia: Form follows functioning. World Psychiatry, 11(3), 161-162. Web.
Siantz, E., & Aranda, M. P. (2014). Chronic disease self-management interventions for adults with serious mental illness: a systematic review of the literature. General Hospital Psychiatry, 36(3), 233-244. Web.
Zou, H., Li, Z., Nolan, M. T., Arthur, D., Wang, H., & Hu, L. (2012). Self-management education interventions for persons with schizophrenia: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 22(3), 256-271. Web.