Functional recovery of consumers discharged from mental hospital and participating in a community-based psychosocial programme provided by a non-governmental organisation

Objective: To explore the 1-year functional recovery rate and identify factors predicting functional recovery of consumers in the Hong Kong context. Methods: By adopting a prospective longitudinal follow-up research design, a cohort of Chinese people discharged from the mental hospital and participating in a community-based psychosocial programme provided by a non-governmental organisation were followed up for 1 year. These individuals were assessed on their social functioning, psychiatric symptoms, self-efficacy, and quality of life using standardised assessment scales at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months of follow-up. Results: Of 87 participants, about one quarter (23.0%, n = 20) achieved functional recovery and about three quarters (79.3%, n = 69) achieved symptom remission at 12 months of follow-up. Also, the group showing functional recovery achieved better quality of life than those not showing recovery. Logistic regression analysis indicated that current functioning, current psychiatric symptoms, and achieving open employment at 12 months were significant predictors of functional recovery. These 3 predicting factors altogether accounted for half (54.4%) of the variance of functional recovery. Conclusions: It is more difficult to achieve functional recovery than symptom remission for consumers. Helping consumers to improve social skills, achieve open employment, and reduce psychiatric symptoms is recommended as important elements in facilitating functional recovery in the local context.