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The influence of marriage on the long-term outcomes of schizophrenia is largely unknown. This study was to examine the impact of marriage on the 14-year outcomes and identify the correlates of marriage among persons with schizophrenia in rural community. All study participants with schizophrenia (n=510) were identified in 1994 in an epidemiological investigation of 123,572 people aged 15years and older and followed up in 2004 and 2008 in Xinjin County, Chengdu, China. The Patients Follow-up Schedule (PFS) was used in 2004 and 2008. The rate of follow-up in 2008 was 95.9%. Unmarried individuals in 1994 had higher rates of homelessness and suicide, and lower rate of survival in 2004 and 2008 than those married. In 14-year follow-up, unmarried individuals were more likely to be male, to have higher level of psychiatric symptoms and lower rate of full remission of illness, and to report lower level of work functioning, as well as with fewer family members and caregiver, and lower family economic status. The predictors of being married in 2008 included being married in 1994, shorter duration of illness, being female, and lower level of education. Being married is predictive of more favorable 14-year outcomes of persons with schizophrenia in the rural community. Given that marriage can be instrumental for enhancing family-based support and caregiving, as well as improving the community tenure of persons with schizophrenia, it is important to develop programs to enhance opportunity for persons with schizophrenia to get and stay married. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is unclear whether the enhancing contact model (ECM) intervention is effective in reducing family caregiving burden and improving hope and quality of life (QOL) among family caregivers of persons with schizophrenia (FCPWS). Methods: We conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial in FCPWS in eight rural townships in Xinjin, Chengdu, China. In total, 253 FCPWS were randomly allocated to the ECM, psychoeducational family intervention (PFI), or treatment as usual (TAU) group. FCPWS in three groups were assessed caregiving burden, QOL and state of hope at baseline (T0), post-intervention (T1), 3-month (T2), and 9-month (T3) follow-up, respectively. Results: Compared with participants in the TAU group, participants in the ECM group had statistically significantly lower caregiving burden scores both at T1 and T2 (p = 0.0059 and 0.0257, respectively). Compared with participants in the TAU group, participants in the PFI group had statistically significantly higher QOL scores in T1 (p = 0.0406), while participants in the ECM group had statistically significantly higher QOL scores in T3 (p = 0.0240). Participants in both ECM and PFI groups had statistically significantly higher hope scores than those in the TAU group at T1 (p = 0.0160 and 0.0486, respectively). Conclusions: This is the first study to explore the effectiveness of ECM on reducing family caregiving burden and improving hope and QOL in rural China. The results indicate the ECM intervention, a comprehensive and multifaceted intervention, is more effective than the PFI in various aspects of mental wellbeing among FCPWS. Future research needs to confirm ECM's effectiveness in various population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: The increasing prevalence of mental illness and low treatment rate presents a pressing public health issue in China. Pervasive stigma is a significant barrier to mental health recovery and community inclusion. In particular, stigmatizing or supportive attitudes held by healthcare providers could either perpetuate or mitigate self-stigma of people with mental illness. Moreover, mental health resources are unevenly distributed in China, with most of them concentrated in urban centers and provincial capitals. This study explores healthcare providers' attitudes toward mental illness and the challenges they faced at work in a rural Chinese county. Method: Four focus groups were conducted with 36 healthcare providers from a three-tier mental healthcare system in a rural county in southwestern China. Focus group discussions were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The team employed a conventional content analysis approach for data analysis. All transcripts were double-coded by three bilingual team members who are native Chinese speakers. Coding discrepancies were resolved by consensus. Results: Healthcare providers recruited from the county, township, and village levels varied in educational background, professional qualification, and experience of working with people with mental illness. Five thematic categories identified across four groups include (1) barriers to mental healthcare delivery, (2) keys to mental health recovery, (3) providers' attitudes toward providing care, (4) providers' perception toward patients and family members, and (5) providers' perception of training needs. Conclusions: This is a unique study that included healthcare providers from a three-tier healthcare system. Findings signal the importance of understanding healthcare practitioners' experiences and views to inform the design of training initiatives in rural or low-resource communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]