Training chronic mental patients to independently practice personal grooming skills.
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.
Wong
S E
SE
Northeast Florida State Hospital, Macclenny.
Flanagan
S G
SG
Kuehnel
T G
TG
Liberman
R P
RP
Hunnicut
R
R
Adams-Badgett
J
J
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