Self-reported quality of life for people with schizophrenia in a psychiatric outpatient department in Saudi Arabia

Abstract EN

Few studies have investigated the quality of life (QoL) for people with schizophrenia in Arab countries and none that solely studied QoL for people with schizophrenia in Saudi Arabia.

Aim: To investigate the selfreported QoL and related socio-demographic factors for people with schizophrenia in Saudi Arabia.

Method: A purposive sample was recruited from the Psychiatric Outpatient Department of King Fahd University Hospital (KFUH), Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia in 2010.

Structured face-to-face interviews were conducted using the Lancashire Quality of Life Profile European Version.

Data were analyzed with SPSS 17 software.

Results : A total of 159 people participated in the study.

The majority of the participants were male (61 %), married (51.6 %), and unemployed (54.7 %).

They had a mean age of 38.23 years.

The main findings were that Saudi Arabian people with schizophrenia were mostly satisfied with their religion 82.2 % while they were dissatisfied with their leisure activities (25.2 %), work (23.3 %), and their financial status (24.5 %).

Women reported less satisfaction with their QoL than men.

Unemployed people were less satisfied with their QoL than those employed.

Married people were more satisfied with their QoL than single, divorced and widowed individuals ; and people with low education were less satisfied with their QoL than those who had received higher education.

Conclusion : The perception of QoL as reported by people with schizophrenia in Saudi Arabia will provide mental health services in Saudi Arabia more specific information.

This information will contribute to the development of community based mental health services that emphasize effective management and better outcomes for people with schizophrenia.