Results
Participants’ demographic and clinical characteristics
This study involved 58 participants: 29 in the experimental group and 29 in the control group. The demographics and outcome variables of the two groups are presented in Table 1. Homogeneity test results showed that no differences existed between the two groups prior to the intervention. In both groups, the average age of the participants was 4683 (SD 837), with an initial age range of 31-65. The average number of years of education was 1129 (SD 200), the average number of hospitalizations was 488 (SD 358) and the average number of years since illness onset was 2264 (SD 862). Based on the CPZ equivalents, a standardized measure for medication doses, there was no difference in the amount of medication between the two groups of participants at any of the aforementioned four points in time and the t-test results indicated that