Investigation of stigma and quality of life in schizophrenia patients - Esenyurt Community Mental Health Center case

Today, individuals with schizophrenia in the category of mental disorders are the ones that are most exposed to stigmatization. Pleasing results are obtained in the treatment day by day. However, medical treatment alone is not enough. In addition to medical treatments, psychosocial treatments are also needed to ensure that patients achieve a complete well-being and regain their pre-disease quality of life. In this study, it was aimed to examine the quality of life of schizophrenic patients followed-up by Community Mental Health Center (CMHC) according to their stigma levels and to gain information about their current situation. The study is important for the adoption and development of new approaches alongside medical treatment. Having information about the current state of the patients will shed light on suggestions for solutions that can be developed. The study included 105 patients with schizophrenia who were followed by Esenyurt CMHC between December 2017 and February 2018, who were able to communicate, accept scale application and come to the center regularly.In addition to the socio-demographic information form, the "Quality of Life Scale of the World Health Organization - Short Form" and "Internalized Stigmatization of Mental Disorders Scale" were performed. Data was analyzed and interpreted using t-Test, Anova and regression analysis techniques with the help of SPSS. In accordance with the literature, when the study findings were compared with the stigmatization and quality of life hypothesis tests, the quality of life quality, general health, physical health, psychological health, social relations and environment decreased as the level of internalized stigma increased in schizophrenia patients. Together with these results, it is necessary to evaluate the schizophrenic patients with a social service perspective that aims to lead an honorable life, to treat the individual with their environment, to increase the number of CMHCs who fight against stigma, and to support the patients by supporting them with psychosocial approaches as well as medical treatment.