PURPOSE: Aim of the study is the analysis of the psychiatrists' evaluation of the impact of a psychoeducative group programme on patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders, which was part of the project "Integrated Treatment of Schizophrenia". METHOD: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 20 psychiatrists involved in outpatient treatment of patients who participated in the psychoeducative programme. Interviews were analysed by means of qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: For some patients psychiatrist noticed positive changes of the awareness for early signs of psychosis, the illness behaviour and their attitudes regarding their disorder. Although only some of the psychiatrists believe that psychoeducation has a direct impact on the reduction of relapse rates and the necessity of inpatient episodes, most of them regard the observed effects as an important improvement of the patients' ability to cope with their disorder. CONCLUSIONS: The effectiveness of psychoeducational programmes should not only be assessed by their impact on the reduction of relapse rates and health service cost but also by its contribution to the patients' quality of life. The integration of psychoeducational programmes into existing outpatient services seems to be an important task of future service planning.
PURPOSE: Aim of the study is the analysis of the psychiatrists' evaluation of the impact of a psychoeducative group programme on patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders, which was part of the project "Integrated Treatment of Schizophrenia". METHOD: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 20 psychiatrists involved in outpatient treatment of patients who participated in the psychoeducative programme. Interviews were analysed by means of qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: For some patients psychiatrist noticed positive changes of the awareness for early signs of psychosis, the illness behaviour and their attitudes regarding their disorder. Although only some of the psychiatrists believe that psychoeducation has a direct impact on the reduction of relapse rates and the necessity of inpatient episodes, most of them regard the observed effects as an important improvement of the patients' ability to cope with their disorder. CONCLUSIONS: The effectiveness of psychoeducational programmes should not only be assessed by their impact on the reduction of relapse rates and health service cost but also by its contribution to the patients' quality of life. The integration of psychoeducational programmes into existing outpatient services seems to be an important task of future service planning.