The lived experiences of people with schizophrenia prescribed atypical antipsychotic medication and the impact on their quality of life

18^th International Conference on Nursing & Healthcare

December 05-07, 2016 Dallas, USA

Anthony Gill

University of Leeds, UK

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Nurs Care

Abstract :

The question of quality of life of people with schizophrenia has been widely debated. Pinikahana et al., (2002) conducted a review of published studies and found that each of these studies utilized a quality of life (QOL) measurement scale that was either completed by a practitioner or the patients themselves. There are no published studies that have looked specifically at the lived experiences of people with schizophrenia and their quality of life. This study focused on the lived experiences of people with schizophrenia and the use of multiple data collection methods, to develop valid accounts of how patients themselves construct their lives to be meaningful and how medication affects this. 19 people were recruited, and they kept a daily diary for a period of four weeks, documenting their activities, experiences and feelings. They also took part in two individual interviews at the mid and end points of the study. Data were analyzed using the work of Erving Goffman (1990a) and analyzed using Burnard�s content analysis (1991) from which five core concepts (social isolation, stigma, confidence, quality of life and social networks) emerged. Participants suffered a loss of identity and control over their lives, and stigma from the public and media continued to play a significant part in influencing their QoL. The study gives a unique and original insight into how a person with schizophrenia lives their life, and that the stigma associated with schizophrenia still has a negative impact on quality of life. People with schizophrenia want and need to be listened to their lived experiences and should be taken into consideration when implementing policy development.

Biography :

Email: lifag@leeds.ac.uk