Impact of Group Art Therapy Using Traditional Chinese Materials on Self-Efficacy and Social Function for Individuals Diagnosed With Schizophrenia

Effects of Telenursing on Drug Attitudes, Self-Efficacy, and Quality of Life in Individuals With Schizophrenia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

PURPOSE

During the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, health services offered to individuals diagnosed with mental disorders were interrupted, and use of alternative methods, such as telenursing, came to the forefront.

METHOD

Sixty-four individuals with schizophrenia participated in the current randomized controlled trial that evaluated whether a telenursing intervention affected their drug attitudes, self-efficacy, and quality of life. Pretest, posttest, and follow-up measurements were obtained for experimental and control groups from May to August 2021. Data were collected via a Personal Information Form, Drug Attitude Inventory-10, Self-Efficacy Scale, and World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire-Short Form.

RESULTS

Upon comparison of scores obtained by the experimental and control groups in pretest, posttest, and follow-up measurements, it was discerned that telenursing positively affected drug attitudes of participants in the experimental group and enhanced their quality of life. Although there was an increase in self-efficacy levels of the experimental group compared to the control group, the difference was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION

Telenursing is an effective intervention for the improvement of drug attitudes and quality of life but is not satisfactory for the improvement of self-efficacy in individuals with schizophrenia. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 62(10), 15-24.].

Group arts therapies for patients with schizophrenia: a protocol of systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Schizophrenia, a chronic mental problem, significantly impacts cognition, emotion and social functioning. Conventional pharmacotherapy faces challenges including numerous side effects, low adherence to medication and substantial costs. In this context, group arts therapies (GATs) emerge as a promising complementary approach for symptom alleviation in schizophrenia patients. Nonetheless, the effectiveness and safety of GATs are yet to be firmly established. This study aims to systematically assess the therapeutic impact of all group-based artistic interventions as complementary treatments for schizophrenia, focusing on their potential benefits.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

This study will search four English-language databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and Embase), two Chinese databases (Wanfang Data and China National Knowledge Infrastructure) and three Korean databases (RISS, Korean Citation Index and DBpia) from their inception until October 2023. It will include all randomised controlled trials that compare GATs for schizophrenia with standard rehabilitation methods. The primary outcome is the improvement in patients' positive and negative symptoms. Methodologies such as bias risk assessment, data synthesis, sensitivity analysis and subgroup analysis will be implemented using Review Manager V.5.4. Study results with high heterogeneity will be merged using a random-effects model (I 2>50% or p<0.1). In cases where meta-analysis is not viable due to significant clinical and methodological heterogeneity, a qualitative summary of the findings will be provided.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The data used in this systematic review are anonymised, devoid of any private information, eliminating the requirement for ethical approval. Dissemination of the research findings will be conducted via peer-reviewed publications.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42023471583.

Art Therapy as a Nursing Intervention for Individuals With Schizophrenia

The aim of the current study was to determine the effects of group art therapy on clinical symptoms, alexithymia, and quality of life among people with schizophrenia. This single-blinded, randomized controlled trial was performed with 66 individuals with schizophrenia from a community mental health center in western Turkey between September 2021 and February 2022. Following art therapy, the intervention group had lower severity of positive, negative, and general psycho-pathology symptoms; lower levels of alexithymia; and higher levels of psychological health, social relationships, and total quality of life than the control group; and the difference between groups was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Results reveal that art therapy combined with pharmacological therapy contributes to good clinical outcomes among individuals with schizophrenia. This evidence can guide psychiatric nurses to use art therapy to reduce psychopathology severity and increase functionality and quality of life among individuals with schizophrenia. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 62(5), 29-38.].

Community-based social healthcare practices in China for healthy aging: a social prescription perspective analysis

Background

The global population is aging, and the number of people suffering from chronic diseases is increasing. In response to these trends, community-enhanced social healthcare practices are a novel paradigm of social prescribing that aims to improve both the community's and the individual's level of health by combining community involvement, organizational change, and individual-level practice.

Objective

The study examined the state of community-based social healthcare practices using the lens of social prescription in China with an eye on promoting healthy aging there.

Method

Thematic analysis approach was used in this investigation. A social prescription lens was used to conduct an open-ended theme study of China's community-based social healthcare practices for healthy aging. The research was conducted in Yiwu in Zhejiang Province, P. R. China. A sample of 24 "comprehensive evaluation team members (CETM)" was chosen using a purposive selection strategy.

Results

In the context of the social prescription, we analyzed social healthcare practices for healthy aging at the community level. All the comprehensive evaluation team members described community social healthcare practices under the paradigm of social prescription. After analyzing the community social healthcare practices under the paradigm of social prescription, six main themes (E-Social Prescription, Nature-based Social Prescription, Healthy Living Social Prescription, Culture-based Social Prescription, Health Screening Social Prescription, and Health Education Social Prescription) emerged for healthy aging at the community level.

Conclusion

Social prescribing links individuals to non-clinical services and activities, typically provided by the nonprofit and community sectors. Community-based social healthcare practices under social prescription can be an efficient and cost-effective way to assist patients with chronic diseases in managing their illnesses and enhancing their overall health and wellbeing.

Effectiveness of using calligraphic activity to treat people with schizophrenia: a randomized controlled trial in Southern Taiwan

Background:

Prior research has shown preliminary evidence that calligraphy activity improves various body functions and decreases severity of psychotic symptoms in individuals with schizophrenia. However, major limitations of earlier studies include small and heterogeneous samples. The current large-scale randomized controlled trial examined effects of calligraphy activity on cognition (including attention), emotions, psychotic symptoms, quality of life, and mood in people with schizophrenia.

Methods:

One-hundred-and-fifty patients with schizophrenia were randomly allocated to the treatment group (receiving calligraphy activity) or the control group (receiving general activity), both of which lasted for 24 weeks (70 minutes per session; one session per week). Assessments were conducted at pretest, posttest, and three-month follow-up. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Chu’s Attention Test, Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, World Health Questionnaire on the Quality of Life-Brief Form, and Visual Analogue Scale were used.

Results:

Improved cognition and attention were found in both groups, although no group effects were shown. The treatment group appeared to show lower severity of positive symptoms at follow-up than posttest, whereas the control group appeared to show the opposite pattern. Improved mood was found in the treatment group.

Conclusion:

This study provides evidence regarding effects of calligraphy activity on increasing cognition and potentially decreasing severity of positive symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. Calligraphy activity can be incorporated in clinical occupational therapy and may be provided to supplement medication treatment.

Trial Registration:

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03882619; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03882619

Anger Experience and Anger Expression Through Drawing in Schizophrenia: An fNIRS Study

Differences in emotion experience and emotion expression between patients with schizophrenia and the healthy population have long been the focus of research and clinical attention. However, few empirical studies have addressed this topic using art-making as a tool of emotion expression. This study explores the differences in brain mechanism during the process of expressing anger between patients with schizophrenia and healthy participants using pictographic psychological techniques. We used functional near-infrared spectroscopy to fully detect changes in frontal cortex activity among participants in two groups-schizophrenia and healthy-during the process of experiencing and expressing anger. The results showed that there were no differences in the experience of anger between the two groups. In the process of anger expression, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, frontal pole, and other regions showed significant negative activation among patients with schizophrenia, which was significantly different from that of the healthy group. There were significant differences between patients with schizophrenia and the healthy group in the drawing features, drawing contents, and the ability to describe the contents of their drawings. Moreover, the effect size of the latter was greater than those of the former two. In terms of emotion expression, the drawing data and brain activation data were significantly correlated in each group; however, the correlation patterns differed between groups.

Art Therapy: A Complementary Treatment for Mental Disorders

Art therapy, as a non-pharmacological medical complementary and alternative therapy, has been used as one of medical interventions with good clinical effects on mental disorders. However, systematically reviewed in detail in clinical situations is lacking. Here, we searched on PubMed for art therapy in an attempt to explore its theoretical basis, clinical applications, and future perspectives to summary its global pictures. Since drawings and paintings have been historically recognized as a useful part of therapeutic processes in art therapy, we focused on studies of art therapy which mainly includes painting and drawing as media. As a result, a total of 413 literature were identified. After carefully reading full articles, we found that art therapy has been gradually and successfully used for patients with mental disorders with positive outcomes, mainly reducing suffering from mental symptoms. These disorders mainly include depression disorders and anxiety, cognitive impairment and dementias, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and autism. These findings suggest that art therapy can not only be served as an useful therapeutic method to assist patients to open up and share their feelings, views, and experiences, but also as an auxiliary treatment for diagnosing diseases to help medical specialists obtain complementary information different from conventional tests. We humbly believe that art therapy has great potential in clinical applications on mental disorders to be further explored.