Household economic burden and outcomes of patients with schizophrenia after being unlocked and treated in rural China

作者：Lingzi Xu, Tianwei Xu, Wei Tan, Bin Yan, D. Wang, H. Li, Yong Lin, Kunlin Li, Hui Wen, Xuezheng Qin, Xiaoxiao Sun, Lili Guan, Judith Bass, Hong Ma, Xin Yu · 发表于：Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences · 年份：2019 · DOI：10.1017/s2045796019000775 · 被引用次数：23 · 研究领域：Schizophrenia research and treatment、Family Caregiving in Mental Illness、Healthcare Decision-Making and Restraints

AIMS: Patients with severe mental disorders in low-resource settings have limited access to services, resulting in overwhelming caregiving burden for families. In extreme cases, this has led to the long-term restraining of patients in their homes. China underwent a nationwide initiative to unlock patients and provide continued treatment. This study aims to quantify household economic burden in families after unlocking and treatment, and to identify factors associated with increased burden due to schizophrenia. METHODS: A total of 264 subjects were enrolled from three geographically diverse provinces in 2012. Subjects were patients with schizophrenia who were previously put under restraints and had participated in the 'unlocking and treatment' intervention. The primary outcome was the current household economic burden, obtained from past year financial information collected through on-site interview. Patient disease characteristics, treatment, outcomes and family caregiving burden were collected as well. Univariate and multivariate linear regression were used to construct risk factor models for indirect economic burden. RESULTS: After participating in the intervention, 85% of patients continued to receive mental health services, 70% used medication as prescribed and 80% were never relocked. Family members reported significantly decreased caregiving burden after receiving the intervention. Mean direct and indirect household economic burdens were CNY963 (US$31.7) and CNY11 724 (...