title: Training chronic mental patients to independently practice personal grooming skills.
abstract: Schizophrenic patients typically have poor grooming and self-care skills, which hinder their social relationships and their chances of successful adaptation in the community. A practical and inexpensive program for teaching grooming skills to hospitalized chronic mental patients has been developed in a California state hospital. Patients are also taught to evaluate their grooming behavior and to carry out grooming activities independently. Grooming deficits and improvements are rated on an 11-category performance checklist. Two small-scale pilot studies showed that the program is efficacious and that nursing staff can effectively apply the procedures; in another study, the program was implemented on a large psychiatric unit with minimal staffing and resources.
authors.affiliation: Northeast Florida State Hospital, Macclenny.
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Flanagan
authors.forename: T G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Kuehnel
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Liberman
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hunnicut
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Adams-Badgett
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000534:rehabilitation