Promoting Adherence to Treatment in Schizophrenia

The project evaluates a culturally adapted, family-based intervention designed to promote treatment adherence among Mexican-Americans with schizophrenia using a randomized, controlled design in a public mental health setting. Mexican-American patients with schizophrenia and their families were randomly assigned to either: 1) one year of multi- family groups that emphasize the importance of attitudes towards adherence, subjective norms, and self-perceived and actual adherence skills in maintaining adherence, added to ongoing customary outpatient care; 2) standard multi-family groups without an emphasis on medication adherence, added to customary outpatient care; or 3) customary outpatient care only (monthly pharmacotherapy sessions and additional services as clinically needed). The study hypotheses are that subjects assigned to the adapted multi-family group would have better medication adherence, less psychiatric symptoms and fewer psychiatric hospitalizations throughout the course of the study (one year of treatment and one year of follow up) compared to the comparison conditions.