Evaluation of the Quality of Life of the Schizophrenic Outpatient: A Checklist

Th« quality of life of schizophrenic patients has become an important issue, both in the community and in the hospital. Treatment programs should be individualized to improve patients' quality of life, which calls for both flexibility and detailed assessment of patients' patterns of existence. Described is the Quality of Life Checklist for recording judgments of the patient's situation in a systematic way, to make sure that important areas are not overlooked. It is simple, easy to use, and potentially a' useful tool for evaluation, and for planning relevant and individualized interventions. A pilot study in 40 schizophrenic patients demonstrated its utility. The troubles of schizophrenia are not exclusively a medical and psychiatric rehabilitation problem. Other agencies and other professionals have a responsibility for our patients' quality of life and to deal with social problems that are beyond the usual scope of our own capabilities and expertise. With modern drug treatment and a therapeutically minded staff, it is usually fairly easy to reduce symptoms and get schizophrenic patients out of the hospital. In the okLdays, this was the main concern—both for the clinician and for evaluative research. Now we have acquired the ambition to think about other things, such as risk of relapse, quality of life, remedying individual sensitivity to life events, and enhancing the patient's capacity to deal with life generally.