experimental group, and the other two facilities
were assigned to the control group according to the
overall participants' general characteristics (Table
1). General characteristics were gender, age, marital
status, age of onset, admission experience, and
number of admission, which were developed from
literature review and which affects patients' symptoms
and functions (Cha, 2009; Lee, 2003; Park,
2007). Two participants were dropped from the
study as a result of getting employed or hospitalized
during the program. Six participants were excluded
because of incomplete response to the questionnaires.
Finally, 52 patients who participated in the
study were assigned to the experimental group (n =
22) or the control group (n = 30).
Ethical Considerations
All of the participants were given sufficient
explanation regarding the objectives and processes
of the study and acknowledged their rights as
participants. Those who voluntarily signed the
informed consent form were permitted to participate
in the study. The names and personal
information of the participants were kept confidential.
This study was approved by an institutional
review board of a psychiatric hospital in Korea.