Health education or empowerment education with individuals with a serious persistent psychiatric disability

This study tested the effectiveness of health education versus empowerment education with individuals with a chronic and persistent mental illness. A randomized, controlled trial design was used in 22 community group homes. T he Lehman Quality of Life Scale was administered prior to the interventions , immediately following the intervention, and then 6 months later. Health s ervices utilization was also measured. Although Quality of Life scores impr oved over time, there were no statistically significant differences found b etween groups in Quality of Life and use of health services. There were cli nically important gains (20%) in global quality of life for a specific subs et of individuals who endorsed a life low in satisfaction and with little h ope for the future, and this also resulted in more expense for resource con sumption. Results of this study highlight issues of the length of time to p roduce changes in individuals with a severe illness and the sensitivity of quality-of-life measures in evaluating interventions.