Self-care e schizofrenia: risultati di una revisione narrativa della letteratura

The treatment of schizophrenic disorders includes multiple interventions that must be integrated with each other for the complete management of the patient. Among the interventions of an educational and psychosocial nature we find the improvement of self-care behaviors. From the literature, it is clear that self-care has a positive impact on health and psychosocial outcomes of patients with chronic diseases and its studies is emerging in different realities that deal with patients with schizophrenia, even if the concrete effectiveness of self-care in this pathology remains uncertain and the literature in this regard is fragmented and devoid of an overall vision. Consequently, this study aims to provide a critical synthesis of the available scientific evidence regarding self-care behaviors performed by patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. Through a review of the literature, the 231 results obtained were examined and 7 articles were selected through the application of the inclusion criteria. Three macro-themes have been identified: (a) the levels of self-care implemented by patients with schizophrenia; (b) the factors influencing this process; (c) educational interventions that have been shown to have an effect and efficacy for developing self-care behaviors. Self-care in the patient suffering from schizophrenia is a fundamental therapeutic tool, however it needs to be deepened with new primary studies, in order to provide a clear vision on the methods of intervention to satisfy the patient’s needs, thus limiting the complications related to the disease and giving these people back a satisfactory quality of life.