METHODS: PsycINFO, Web of Science, and PubMed databases were searched for articles published between January 1998 and December 2018. Fifty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria. All studies implemented the generative retrieval strategy by inducing memories through cue words or pictures, the life-stage method, or open-ended retrieval method. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Statement guidelines were followed for this review.
RESULTS: Most studies reported that patients with schizophrenia retrieve less specific autobiographical memories when compared to a healthy control group, while only three studies indicated that both groups performed similarly on memory specificity. Patients with schizophrenia also exhibited earlier reminiscence bumps than those for healthy controls. The relationship between comorbid depression and autobiographical memory specificity appeared to be independent because patients' memory specificity improved through intervention, but their level of depression remained unchanged. The U-shaped retrieval pattern for memory specificity was not consistent. Both the connection between the history of attempted suicide and autobiographical memory specificity, and the relationship between psychotic symptoms and autobiographical memory specificity, remain inconclusive. Patients' memory specificity and coherence improved through cognitive training.
CONCLUSIONS: The overgeneral recall of autobiographical memory by patients with schizophrenia could be attributed to working memory, the disturbing concept of self, and the cuing method implemented. The earlier reminiscence bump for patients with schizophrenia may be explained by the premature closure of the identity formation process due to the emergence of psychotic symptoms during early adulthood. Protocol developed for this review was registered in PROSPERO (registration no: CRD42017062643).
METHODS: The DEA was performed using countries as decision-making units, schizophrenia disease investment (cost of disease as a percentage of total health care expenditure) as the input, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) per patient due to schizophrenia as the output. Data were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease 2017 study, the World Bank Group, and a literature search of the PubMed database.
RESULTS: Data were obtained for 44 countries; of these, 34 had complete data and were included in the DEA. Disease investment (percentage of total health care expenditure) ranged from 1.11 in Switzerland to 6.73 in Thailand. DALYs per patient ranged from 0.621 in Lithuania to 0.651 in Malaysia. According to the DEA, countries with the most efficient schizophrenia health care were Lithuania, Norway, Switzerland and the US (all with efficiency score 1.000). The least efficient countries were Malaysia (0.955), China (0.959) and Thailand (0.965).
LIMITATIONS: DEA findings depend on the countries and variables that are included in the dataset.
CONCLUSIONS: In this international DEA, despite the difference in schizophrenia disease investment across countries, there was little difference in output as measured by DALYs per patient. Potentially, Lithuania, Norway, Switzerland and the US should be considered 'benchmark' countries by policy makers, thereby providing useful information to countries with less efficient systems.
METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 160 individuals with schizophrenia receiving community psychiatric services in Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL). The WHOQOL-BREF, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) were used to assess QOL, severity of symptoms and social support, respectively. The study respondents were predominantly Malay, aged less than 40, males, single, unmarried, had lower education levels and unemployed.
RESULTS: About 72% of the respondents had poor perceived social support, with support from significant others being the lowest, followed by friends and family. From multiple regression analysis, social support (total, friend and family) significantly predicted better QOL in all domains; [B=0.315 (p<0.001), B=0.670 (p<0.001), B=0.257 (p<0.031)] respectively in Physical Domain; [B=0.491 (p<0.001), B=0.735 (p<0.001), B=0.631 (p<0.001)] in Psychological Domain; [B=1.065 (p<0.001), B=0.670 (p<0.017), B=2.076 (p<0.001)] in Social Domain and; [B=0.652 (p<0.001), B=1.199 (p<0.001), B=0.678 (p<0.001)] in Environmental Domain. Being married and having shorter duration of illness, lower BPRS (total) scores, female gender and smoking, were also found to significantly predict higher QOL.
CONCLUSION: Social support is an important missing component among people with schizophrenia who are already receiving formal psychiatric services in Malaysia.