The effect of structured exercise program on the quality of life and sleep in schizophrenic patients

Aim: The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of structured exercise on the quality of life and sleep in schizophrenia patients treated and followed up by the Community Mental Health Center (TRSM). Material and Methods: This experimetal and control group, quasi-experimental study was conducted using pre- and post-tests. The study population included schizophrenia patients in a Community Mental Health Center and the sample consisted of 61 patients: 30 in the experimental group and 31 in the control group, selected by the randomized sampling method. The data were collected between May 2015 and September 2016 using a Personal Information Form, the brief version of World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. A structured exercise program was administered to patients in the experimental group and no intervention was conducted for the control group. The measurements were carried out before the exercise, 45 days after the exercise and at the third month of the study. In evaluating the data; a chi-square test was used for the homogeneity of the group features. The scale scores were compared for the test time using the repeated measures analysis of variance and Friedman test. Independent samples t-test and Mann Whitney U test were used for intergroup comparisons. Results: The study found no significant difference between the quality of life mean scores in the three measurements except cultural background of the patients in the control group. The mean scores for the quality of life the patients in the experimental group increased significantly after the exercise and the scores of the patients in the experimental group were found to be significantly higher than those in the control group in the third month. No significant difference was found between the total and the subscale mean scores obtained in the three measurements for the sleep quality of the control group patients while these scores were found to decrease significantly among the experimental group patients after the exercise. Conclusion: The study showed that structured exercise improved the life and sleep quality of the patients with schizophrenia. It is recommended that exercise be used as a descriptive method to increase the effectiveness of the treatment in psychiatric nursing. Key Words: Nursing, Exercise, Scizophrenia, Quality of sleep, Quality of life