Self-care behaviours
Help-seeking behaviours
In this study, if patients with schizophrenia had ever sought
early help (even once) before our study, we considered that
they could recognize early warning signs in the phase preceding
a psychotic deterioration and could seek out help
early.
Participants were asked ‘Do you seek help early when
you deteriorate?’ The participants who answered ‘yes’ to
this question were defined as those exhibiting early helpseeking
behaviours, while the participants who replied ‘no’
were defined as those who did not exhibit early helpseeking
behaviours.
Concretely, participants were asked a question, ‘Do you
consult with someone (non-professional or professional
support persons) when you deteriorate?’ The participants
who answered ‘yes’ to this question could seek consultation
with non-professional or professional support persons,
while those who replied ‘no’ could not seek consultation
with them.
Recognition of early warning signs
In this study, awareness of early warning signs was defined
as the recognition of mental and physical symptoms felt in
the phase preceding a psychotic deterioration.
Participants were asked such a question ‘Do you recognize
early warning signs of your deterioration?’ The participants
who answered ‘yes’ to this question were defined
as those recognizing early warning signs, while the participants
who replied ‘no’ were defined as those who did not
recognize early warning signs. The former were then asked
how they recognize their signs and they were also asked to
describe those signs.
Others
Participants were asked ‘Did you receive an explanation
of your illness (diagnosis) from someone?’ The participants
were asked to respond ‘I received an explanation
from my doctor’, ‘I received an explanation from my
family’, ‘I received an explanation from my facilities staff’
or ‘I have never received an explanation from anyone’.
Additionally, to the question ‘Who manages your medication?’,
participants were asked to respond ‘I manage
my medication’, ‘I receive support in managing my medication
from family and facility staff’ or ‘My family and
facility staff manage my medication’. Participants also
answered a question about the number of people consulted
for serious concerns.
R. Koichi et al.
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