The Effectiveness of the Combination Therapy of Risperidone, Group Psychotherapy and Occupational Therapy on Cognitive Functions and the Quality of Life of Schizophrenia Patients

Schizophrenia is a chronic disorder that could cause a high morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of combination therapy of risperidone, group psychotherapy, and occupational therapy on cognitive functions and quality of life of schizophrenia patients. The study compared the score of Schizophrenia Cognition Rating Scale of Indonesian version (SCoRSVI) and the score of the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS 2.0) between schizophrenia patients who received the occupational therapy (occupational therapy group) and those who did not received occupational therapy (control group). This study was a longitudinal analytic study with a prospective cohort approach which was conducted at South Sulawesi Province Special Hospital (RSKD). Each group consisted of twenty-two schizophrenia patients who were hospitalized for the first time from June to August 2018, and were divided by randomized consecutive sampling technique. Our findings indicated that the comparison of SCoRSVI and WHODAS 2.0 scores between Occupational therapy group and the control group were significant on the eighth week (p = 0.03 and p = 0.010, consecutively). Result showed that the occupational therapy was effective when combined with antipsychotic therapy and the group psychotherapy to improve cognitive function and the quality of life of the schizophrenia patients, especially in long term therapy.