Effect of Community Re-Entry Program on the Mental State in Chronic Mental Illnesses Daily Rehabilitation Centers in Hamadan

Community Re-Entry Program (CRP) is one of the new programs that equips participants with the skills and information necessary to enable them to meet the requirements of hospital stay, to live independently in their community. The present study aimed to assess the effect of Community Re-Entry Program (CRP) on the mental state of patients with chronic mental disorders.
In the present study, 40 patients with chronic mental disorders referring to outpatient rehabilitation centers of Hamadan, Iran, were randomly divided into two intervention (N=20) and control (N=20) groups. The intervention group received CRP in 16 educational sessions, each lasting for 60-90-minutes, held twice a week for two months. The control group, on the other hand, took part in the routine occupational therapy of the rehabilitation center. Both groups were evaluated using the Positive and Negative Symptoms Scales (PANSS) questionnaire before and after the intervention.
The results showed a significant change in negative symptoms (P=0.04), general psychopathology (P=0.01), and total score of PANSS questionnaire (P=0.02) in the intervention group compared with those of the control group, after the intervention. However, no significant difference was found between the two groups concerning positive symptoms.
According the research findings, CRP could reduce negative symptoms, general psychopathology, and total scores of mental state in chronic mental patients, which reflects the impact of the program in improving mental state in these patients. Yet, future studies are required to assess the long-term clinical effects of this program.