Knut W. Sørgaard

Predictors of Subjective Quality of Life in Schizophrenic Patients Living in the Community. a Nordic Multicentre Study

As part of a Nordic multi-centre study investigating the life and care situation of community samples of schizophrenic patients the aim of the present part of the study was to examine the relationship between global subjective quality of life and objective life conditions, clinical characteristics including psychopathology and number of needs for care, subjective factors such as satisfaction with different life domains, social network, and self-esteem. A sample of 418 persons with schizophrenia from 10 sites was used. The results of a final multiple regression analysis, explaining 52.3% of the variance, showed that five subjective factors were significantly associated with global subjective quality of life, together with one objective indicator, to have a close friend. No clinical characteristics were associated with global subjective quality of life. The largest part of the variance was explained by satisfaction with health, 36.3% of the variance, and self-esteem, 7.3% of the variance. It is concluded that the actual relationship between objective life conditions and subjectively experienced quality of life still remains unclear. Furthermore, it seems obvious that personality related factors such as self-esteem, mastery and sense of autonomy also play a role in the appraisal of subjective quality of life, which implies that factors like these are important to consider in clinical and social interventions for patients with schizophrenia in order to improve quality of life for these persons.

Comparison of key worker and patient assessment of needs in schizophrenic patients living in the community:a Nordic multicentre study

Objective:  The present study is part of a Nordic multicentre study investigating the life and care situation of community samples of schizophrenic patients. The specific aim of the present part of the study was to examine the agreement between patients and their key worker concerning the presence of met and unmet needs in a number of life domains, and help or support given in these domains.

Living situation, subjective quality of life and social network among individuals with schizophrenia living in community settings.

Objective:  To investigate the relationships between characteristics of the living situation in the community and subjective quality of life and social network among community‐based individuals with schizophrenia.

The relationship of needs and quality of life in persons with schizophrenia living in the community. A Nordic multi-center study

The relationship between needs for care and support and subjective quality of life was investigated in a cross-sectional multi-center study including 418 individuals with schizophrenia from 10 centers in Nordic countries. Needs in 22 domains were investigated by interviews with key workers and their patients using the Camberwell Assessment of Need scale, and quality of life by the Lancashire Quality of Life Profile. The results showed that key workers rated slightly more needs than patients. To have more unmet needs, as rated by both key workers and patients, were correlated to a worse overall subjective quality of life, while met needs showed no such association. A regression analysis, controlling for clinical and social characteristics of the patients, showed more unmet needs to be associated with a worse quality of life, accounting for 6% out of a total of 41% explained variance in subjective quality of life. Regression analyses of the relationship of unmet needs in specific life domains and overall quality of life showed that unmet needs in five domains as perceived by patients accounted for 17% of the explained variance in overall quality of life. More than half of this variance was related to an unmet need in the domain of social relationships. It is concluded that unmet needs are of specific importance in needs assessment and that attention must be paid to separate met needs for care and services from unmet needs, since the latter seem more important to consider in order to improve outcome of interventions with regard to quality of life. Specific attention should in this context also be paid to unmet needs concerning social relationships and problems with accommodation.

Subjective versus interviewer assessment of global quality of life among persons with schizophrenia living in the community: A Nordic multicentre study

Background: Few studies have investigated differences between subjective and externally assessed quality of life in individuals with a severe mental illness. In a sample of 387 patients with schizophrenia living in the community the present study investigated the association between subjective and interviewer-rated quality of life, clinical and sociodemographic factors related to the two assessments, and if discrepancies in the assessments were related to any clinical or social features of the patients. Method: The study was a Nordic multicentre study with a cross-sectional design. Instruments used were the Lancashire Quality of Life Profile, the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, the Interview Schedule for Social Interaction, Camberwell Assessment of Needs and General Assessment of Functioning. Results: The correlation between subjective and interviewer-rated quality of life was moderate (ICC=0.33). More severe affective symptoms, fewer emotional relations and a lower monthly income were related to poorer subjectively rated quality of life but in a stepwise multiple regression analysis accounted for only 14.1 of the variance. Poorer interviewer-rated quality of life was mainly related to a more severe psychopathology but also to a lower monthly income, fewer emotional relations and not being employed. Together these factors accounted for 45.5 of the variance. A greater discrepancy between the subjective and the interviewer rating was found in patients with less affective symptoms, unemployment, and a better social network. Conclusion: Only a moderate correlation between subjective and interviewer-assessed global quality of life was found, implying that the sources of assessment differed, as was also shown in subsequent regression models. It is concluded that both perspectives on the patient’s quality of life may be valuable for treatment planning, especially in cases where differences in quality of life assessment related to the patient’s psychopathology may be expected.

Patients’ perception of coercion in acute psychiatric wards. An intervention study

A project based on the “Breakthrough series” for reducing the patients’ perception of coercion in psychiatric acute wards is presented. Three different measures were chosen: 1) engagement of the patients in the formulation of the treatment plan, 2) frequent and regular joint patient and staff evaluations, and 3) renegotiation of treatment plans if necessary. A 5-week baseline was followed by a 12-week intervention period. Anonymously administered self-rating scales were used: the Coercion Ladder and the SPRI questionnaire. Two questions addressing aversive events (verbal and physical) were added. Participation rates were 86% (patients). Data from 190 admissions were analysed. The interventions resulted in only marginal changes in two of eight parameters (the staffs respect and understanding and on total satisfaction with the received help) and no change in experienced coercion. Seclusion accounted for 46% of the explained variance (62%) and participation in the formulation of the treatment plan for only 8% in regression analyses where perceived coercion was the dependent variable; a third of the patients had experienced insulting communication from the staff, and 10% physical harassment during their stay. It was concluded that: 1) the average value of experienced coercion was low, 2) taking part in the planning and evaluation of the treatment had marginal effect on experienced coercion, and 3) the main predictor of felt coercion was seclusion. Actions taken primarily to control behaviour were more strongly related to perceived coercion than aspects of compulsory treatment. More thorough analysis of seclusion and improved routines for its implementation are needed.

Predictors of social relations in persons with schizophrenia living in the community : a Nordic multicentre study.

Abstract  Background: Deinstitutionalisation has led to persons with serious mental illness spending most of their time outside psychiatric institutions. Not much is known about their social life. The paper presents the results of structured interviews with non-institutionalised persons with schizophrenia about treatment, care and social network. The network data are analysed from three perspectives: finding predictors of the number and of the quality of social contacts, and establishing the respective variables that characterise persons with high, and those with low, scores on both the quantity and quality dimensions of social integration. Methods: Random samples of persons with schizophrenia receiving outpatient services in ten psychiatric centres in the four Nordic countries were interviewed. The following instruments were used: Interview Schedule for Social Interaction (ISSI), Camberwell Assessment of Needs, Lancashire Quality of Life Profile, General Assessment of Functioning (GAF) and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), in addition to a checklist covering the utilisation of different services. The ISSI provided the main data for this paper. A restricted number of possible predictors were used in General Linear Model (GLM) factorial analysis and discriminant analysis. Results: A total of 418 persons took part in the study. The overall participation rate was 55%. Social integration in terms of number of contacts was related to a high GAF score, few BPRS negative and hostility symptoms, having contact with user organisations and living in urban (in contrast to rural) areas. Availability of emotional relations was predicted by female sex, low scores on the BPRS hostility dimension, high GAF score, having contact with ones family more than once a month, and living in urban areas. Work, adequate leisure activities and GAF score discriminated between the best and worst integrated groups. Conclusions: Living in urban areas, being female, having a high GAF score and low scores on hostility predicted better integration in terms of number of contacts and emotional relations.

Diagnosing comorbidity in psychiatric hospital: challenging the validity of administrative registers.

BackgroundThis study will explore the validity of psychiatric diagnoses in administrative registers with special emphasis on comorbid anxiety and substance use disorders.MethodsAll new patients admitted to psychiatric hospital in northern Norway during one year were asked to participate. Of 477 patients found eligible, 272 gave their informed consent. 250 patients (52%) with hospital diagnoses comprised the study sample. Expert diagnoses were given on the basis of a structured diagnostic interview (M.I.N.I.PLUS) together with retrospective checking of the records. The hospital diagnoses were blind to the expert. The agreement between the expert’s and the clinicians’ diagnoses was estimated using Cohen’s kappa statistics.ResultsThe expert gave a mean of 3.4 diagnoses per patient, the clinicians gave 1.4. The agreement ranged from poor to good (schizophrenia). For anxiety disorders (F40-41) the agreement is poor (kappa = 0.12). While the expert gave an anxiety disorder diagnosis to 122 patients, the clinicians only gave it to 17. The agreement is fair concerning substance use disorders (F10-19) (kappa = 0.27). Only two out of 76 patients with concurrent anxiety and substance use disorders were identified by the clinicians.ConclusionsThe validity of administrative registers in psychiatry seems dubious for research purposes and even for administrative and clinical purposes. The diagnostic process in the clinic should be more structured and treatment guidelines should include comorbidity.

Structure of needs among persons with schizophrenia

BackgroundThe importance of needs assessment for service development has been widely recognised. Several studies have focused on the associations between ratings of needs by patients and staff and have found clear differences, especially concerning the unmet needs.MethodsThe present study is part of a Nordic Multicentre study that investigates the life and care of outpatients with a schizophrenia group illness in all the Nordic countries. The aim of this paper is to study the patterns of needs as identified by patients and staff according to the Camberwell Assessment of Needs (CAN). Quality of life, level of functioning, and psychiatric symptoms were assessed.ResultsThe sample includes 300 patients, 194 (65%) men and 106 (35%) women. The factor analysis identified five factors for patients and four factors for staff in the questionnaire on ratings of needs. In four of the five patient-related factors a meaningful interpretation was possible, and the factors were named skills, illness, coping, and substance abuse. The staff-related factors were named skills, impairment, symptom, and substance abuse. There were significant associations between the sum scores constructed from the factors and measures of functioning level and symptoms.ConclusionsIt seems that the sum factor reflecting secondary needs was the most important of the identified factors among both patient and staff ratings. The item-by-item comparisons in previous studies have emphasised differences between patient and staff ratings, but our analysis of the structure of needs also found similarities in the structures and in the associations between the identified sum scores and measures of symptoms, functioning level, and quality of life.

Self-esteem in persons with schizophrenia. A Nordic multicentre study

Background: Deinstitutionalisation has led to many people with serious mental illness spending most of their time outside psychiatric institutions. Not much is known about their subjective life. The paper presents the results of analysis of self-esteem in a group of non-institutionalised people with schizophrenia. Methods: Interviews were conducted with random samples of people with schizophrenia receiving out-patient services in ten psychiatric centres in the five Nordic countries. The following instruments were used: The Interview Schedule for Social Interaction (ISSI), Camberwell Assessment of Needs, Lancashire Quality of Life Profile and the Rosenberg self-esteem scale, GAF and BPRS. The Rosenberg scale provided the main data for this paper and three different measures of self-esteem were used (positive self-esteem, negative self-esteem and overall self-esteem). Results: A total of 418 people took part in the study. Total participation rate was 55%. Multiple regression analysis showed the three self-esteem measurements to be mainly related to mental health and other subjective variables, and to lesser extent to social network. Demography played a negligible role, only (female) sex being associated with positive and gross self-esteem. Anxiety/depression and affect balance were the strongest predictors of positive, negative and gross self-esteem, and having at least one close friend was associated with positive and gross self-esteem. Conclusion: variations in self-esteem were mainly explained by differences in anxiety/depression and affect balance, and to extent also with satisfaction with the relations to ones family. Having at least one friend was the strongest social network predictor and sex the only significant demographic variable.