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Research article
The social support, mental health, psychiatric symptoms, and functioning of persons with schizophrenia participating in peer co-delivered vocational rehabilitation: a pilot study in Taiwan
Kan-Yuan Cheng
Taipei Veterans General Hospital Yuli Branch
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8859-870X
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background: Vocational peer support (VPS) services are recovery-oriented interventions in modern psychiatric care for persons with schizophrenia. However, few VPS services are found in currently psychiatric care in Taiwan. Hence, a pilot program of peer co-delivered vocational rehabilitation to support persons with schizophrenia in Taiwan was proposed and evaluated.
Methods: Six peers were trained and were willing to co-lead and assist workplace problem-solving groups and care skills training in an extended vocational rehabilitation program from August 2017 to December 2018. The social support, mental health, psychiatric symptoms, and functioning of service users were assessed before and after peer co-delivered services, and the assessments were based on the following: Social Support Scale (SSS), Chinese Health Questionnaire-12 (CHQ-12), Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), Global Assessment of Function (GAF), and the Chinese version of the Social Functioning Scale (C-SFS).
Results: The recruited 46 service users were mostly middle-aged (49.1 ± 9.8), with 27 being male (58.7%). After interventions, forty-two service users who completed the program had a significantly increased SSS score (149.1 ± 31.8 vs. 161.2 ± 35.0, df = 41, t = 2.70, p = 0.01) and subscale of friend-peer dimension (44.4 ± 12.0 vs. 53.2 ± 13.2, df= 41, t = 4.72, p < 0.001). The objective (GAF: 69.8 ± 9.8 vs. 72.6 ± 8.8, df = 41, t = 3.50, p = 0.001) and subjective social functional scores (C-SFS: 75.2 ± 8.8 vs. 78.1 ± 9.5, df = 41, t = 2.59, p = 0.01) both significantly increased. The weekly wage elevated significantly (37.5 ± 35.5 vs. 43.6 ± 38.0, df = 41, t = 2.57, p = 0.01) and the BPRS-18 score decreased significantly, too (31.2 ± 6.7 vs. 29.3 ± 5.0, df = 41, t = -2.83, p = 0.007).
Conclusions: Peer co-delivered vocational rehabilitation services can enhance the social support received by persons with schizophrenia and improve their occupational function (as evidenced in wage increases). The pilot program proposed can thus be a model for non-Western countries with limited resources allocated from the government to support persons with schizophrenia.
Keywords
Peer support, Mental illness, Vocational rehabilitation
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CURRENT STATUS: Under Review
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Posted 13 Jan, 2021
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Editor assigned
On 27 Dec, 2020
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On 27 Dec, 2020
Editor invited
On 27 Dec, 2020
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Major revision
On 29 Nov, 2020
Review #2 received
Received 23 Nov, 2020
Reviewer #3 agreed
On 08 Nov, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 14 Sep, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 13 Sep, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 23 Aug, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 14 Aug, 2020
Editor invited
On 06 Aug, 2020
Editor assigned
On 30 Jul, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 29 Jul, 2020
First submitted
On 28 Jul, 2020
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This preprint is under consideration at BMC Psychiatry. A preprint is a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Learn more about In Review
Research article
The social support, mental health, psychiatric symptoms, and functioning of persons with schizophrenia participating in peer co-delivered vocational rehabilitation: a pilot study in Taiwan
Kan-Yuan Cheng
Taipei Veterans General Hospital Yuli Branch
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8859-870X
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Under Review
Version 2
Posted 13 Jan, 2021
No community comments so far
Editor assigned
On 27 Dec, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 27 Dec, 2020
Editor invited
On 27 Dec, 2020
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Major revision
On 29 Nov, 2020
Review #2 received
Received 23 Nov, 2020
Reviewer #3 agreed
On 08 Nov, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 14 Sep, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 13 Sep, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 23 Aug, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 14 Aug, 2020
Editor invited
On 06 Aug, 2020
Editor assigned
On 30 Jul, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 29 Jul, 2020
First submitted
On 28 Jul, 2020
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background: Vocational peer support (VPS) services are recovery-oriented interventions in modern psychiatric care for persons with schizophrenia. However, few VPS services are found in currently psychiatric care in Taiwan. Hence, a pilot program of peer co-delivered vocational rehabilitation to support persons with schizophrenia in Taiwan was proposed and evaluated.
Methods: Six peers were trained and were willing to co-lead and assist workplace problem-solving groups and care skills training in an extended vocational rehabilitation program from August 2017 to December 2018. The social support, mental health, psychiatric symptoms, and functioning of service users were assessed before and after peer co-delivered services, and the assessments were based on the following: Social Support Scale (SSS), Chinese Health Questionnaire-12 (CHQ-12), Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), Global Assessment of Function (GAF), and the Chinese version of the Social Functioning Scale (C-SFS).
Results: The recruited 46 service users were mostly middle-aged (49.1 ± 9.8), with 27 being male (58.7%). After interventions, forty-two service users who completed the program had a significantly increased SSS score (149.1 ± 31.8 vs. 161.2 ± 35.0, df = 41, t = 2.70, p = 0.01) and subscale of friend-peer dimension (44.4 ± 12.0 vs. 53.2 ± 13.2, df= 41, t = 4.72, p < 0.001). The objective (GAF: 69.8 ± 9.8 vs. 72.6 ± 8.8, df = 41, t = 3.50, p = 0.001) and subjective social functional scores (C-SFS: 75.2 ± 8.8 vs. 78.1 ± 9.5, df = 41, t = 2.59, p = 0.01) both significantly increased. The weekly wage elevated significantly (37.5 ± 35.5 vs. 43.6 ± 38.0, df = 41, t = 2.57, p = 0.01) and the BPRS-18 score decreased significantly, too (31.2 ± 6.7 vs. 29.3 ± 5.0, df = 41, t = -2.83, p = 0.007).
Conclusions: Peer co-delivered vocational rehabilitation services can enhance the social support received by persons with schizophrenia and improve their occupational function (as evidenced in wage increases). The pilot program proposed can thus be a model for non-Western countries with limited resources allocated from the government to support persons with schizophrenia.