Journal of Community & Public Health Nursing
Open Access

Abstract

Background: Schizophrenia is a severe mental disability disorder that affects all life aspects including physical health, life functioning, general well-being, and overall life skills, and resulted in a prominent impairment in life functioning.

Purpose: There is scarcity of data regarding life skills and disabilities among patients with schizophrenia in Jordan, therefore, this study was conducted to assess life skills and disabilities and its correlates among Jordanian patients with schizophrenia.

Methods: A cross-sectional design was used to collect data by a convenience method from 250 in patients with schizophrenia admitted to mental health hospital in Jordan. Data were collected by one of the researchers using a questionnaire that consisted of demographic variables, Life Skills Profile, Global Assessment of Functioning, and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale.

Results: The results indicated that the level of disability in life skills was 89.23. The highest disability was in social contact and in communication domains, and the lowest was in responsibility domain. There are differences in disability levels in regard to family history of psychiatric illness, marital and employment status, and number of previous hospitalizations. Five factors (negative symptoms, general assessment of functioning, psychopathology symptoms, duration of treatment, and positive symptoms) predicted the disability in life skills and accounted for 65% of the total variance.

Biography

Shaher H Hamaideh has received his Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) in 1992, has received his Master’s degree in General Nursing Education from the University of Jordan (UJ) in 1996, and he has received his PhD in Nursing from the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. He is currently working at the Hashemite University as a Professor of Mental Health Nursing and Dean of the College. He has published more than 25 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an Editorial Board Member in international nursing journal of repute.

E-mail: shaher29@hu.edu.jo