Effects of an Interpersonal Communication Skills Training Program on Medication Adherence of Schizophrenic Patients

Suranaree University of Technology

Status: Completed

Conditions: Non-Adherence, Medication; Remission; Schizophrenia; Psychosis

Treatments: Behavioral: Usual care; Behavioral: Interpersonal Communication Skills Training Program

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07165821

NursingSUT

Details and patient eligibility

About

This quasi-experimental two-group pretest-posttest study examined the effects of an interpersonal communication skills training program on medication adherence in patients with schizophrenia, measured at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and one-month follow-up.

Research Hypotheses

1. The experimental group receiving the interpersonal communication skills training program will show higher mean treatment adherence scores post-intervention and at one-month follow-up compared to baseline.
2. The experimental group will show higher mean treatment adherence scores post-intervention and at one-month follow-up than the control group receiving routine nursing care.

Full description

Intervention : Interpersonal Communication Skills Training Program This program was developed based on DeVito's communication theory and integrated with the positive reinforcement-based interpersonal communication training developed by Thiengwiriyakul et al.(11) The program comprises six sessions: 1) Positive Communication 2) Equal Communication 3) Empathic Communication 4) Supportive Communication 5) Open Communication and 6) Relationship-Building Communication. The intervention was conducted three times per week, 60 minutes per session, over a two-week period.

Usual Care :

Usual care is defined as the provision of standard psychiatric nursing interventions consistent with usual clinical practice.

Enrollment: 40 patients

Sex: Male

Ages: 20 to 59 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. Male patients aged 20-59 with an ICD-10 schizophrenia diagnosis(F20.0-F20.9).
2. History of psychiatric readmission due to medication non-adherence
3. Mild psychiatric symptoms(Thai BPRS score ≤ 36).
4. Poor interpersonal communication skills(score ≤ 1.50 on Thiengviriya et al.'s assessment tool
5. Low to moderate medication adherence(score ≤ 42 on Uthaiphan & Daengdomyut's scale
6. Able to read, write, speak, and without hearing/visual impairments.
7. Had a primary caregiver post-discharge.
8. Provided informed consent voluntarily.

Exclusion criteria

Patients with other psychiatric comorbidities(e.g., depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, or substance-induced psychosis)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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40 participants in 2 patient groups

Experiment group

Experimental group

Description:

The group of patients who received Interpersonal Communication Skills Training Program

Treatment:

Behavioral: Interpersonal Communication Skills Training Program

Control group

Other group

Description:

The group of patients who received routine psychiatric nursing care

Treatment:

Behavioral: Usual care