Schizophrenia stands as one of the top 10 leading causes of disability in the world and it is often associated with hospitalization, inadequate treatment and relapse. Physical exercise program is an innovative treatment which may have positive effects on patients with schizophrenia offering a possible adjunctive intervention which may improve both psychotic symptoms and social functioning.
Objective: Determine the effect of applying physical exercise program on psychotic symptoms and social functioning of patients with schizophrenia. Setting: The psychiatric inpatient wards of ELMaamoura Hospital for Psychiatric Medicine. Subjects: Seventy (70) randomly selected male patients with schizophrenia were included in this study. Tools: Three tools were used; socio-demographic and clinical data tool, the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS- version 4.0) and the Social Functioning Scale (SFS). In addition, physical exercise program intervention was designed and implemented.
Results: The findings revealed that overall psychotic symptoms were significantly improved immediately and after three months of applying the physical exercise program. Also, the results showed significant improvement in social functioning subscales (withdrawal& social engagement, interpersonal communication, independence-competence, recreation and pro social subscale) among the studied patients. Conclusion: Physical exercises have a positive effect on psychotic symptoms and specific social functioning areas. Recommendations: Physical exercise training program should be considered as an integral part in the hospital routine of patients with schizophrenia.