[The role of social support on the quality of life of patients with schizophrenia]

Abstract

The importance of social support for mentally ill people has been increasingly emphasized in recent years. This has resulted from studies showing that family and professional support plays an important role in preventing rehospitalizations and in improving quality of life of patients with schizophrenia. This article presents and analyses the findings of current research concerning the effectiveness of social support in rehabilitation programmes as well as highlights the problem of matching the type and quantity of social support provided to the patients' needs and to the phase of the disease.