ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors related to long-term hospitalization of schizophrenia. METHODS: The subjects were inpatients with schizophrenia who were constantly hospitalized for more than 12 months and their caregivers. They were compared with schizophrenia with no previous experience of sustained hospitalization for more than 12 months and their caregivers. Demographic and clinical data, Korea version of the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale, functional disability and family burden scale were analyzed. RESULTS: In this study long-term hospitalization of schizophrenia was influenced by the following measures. First, primary caregivers variables such as parents/non-parents and cohabitation with patients, second, negative symptom severity of passive/apathetic social withdrawal and lack of spontaneity and flow of conversation, and third, functional disability of go to hospital/take a dose regularly and using public transportation/facilities were associated with long-term hospitalization. And they were significant in logistic regression analysis. CONCLUSION: The above results suggest that long-term hospitalization of schizophrenic patients in Korea might be affected by caregiver's factor, negative symptoms, and functional disability.