Faculty of Health Sciences & Medicine, Bond University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
School of Applied Psychology, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia.
Aust Occup Ther J. 2022 Aug;69(4):424-435. doi: 10.1111/1440-1630.12803. Epub 2022 Apr 19.
Current research evidence suggests that people with schizophrenia have sensory processing difficulties. Sensory modulation has growing evidence for use in this population. This study aimed to evaluate the extent to which health, social, cognitive, and occupational functioning outcomes were impacted by sensory modulation interventions for people with schizophrenia.
A prospective observational cohort study using a waitlist control design was used in two large hospital and health services in Queensland, Australia. The study recruited patients who used sensory modulation (n = 30) across the two hospitals and those who did not use sensory modulation interventions as a control (n = 11). Results were analysed using a series of planned comparisons including independent and paired t-tests, and mixed ANOVA was used whenever statistically indicated. The analysed measures were pre- and post-intervention scores.
This study found no statically significant differences between the control and intervention groups at both pre- and post-intervention. However, analysis of results from within the intervention group showed statistically significant improvements between pre- and post-test scores on distress, occupational functioning, and health and social functioning but not on sensory processing and global cognitive processing. Further analysis of results from this study, compared with those from an earlier study on the general population showed significant differences in Low Registration and Sensation Avoiding, as measured by the Adult/Adolescent Sensory Profile, between participants with schizophrenia and those without schizophrenia.
This study provides evidence to suggest that sensory modulation interventions can be complementary to standard care when utilised appropriately in clinical settings. Findings also suggest that the sensory profile of people with schizophrenia is different to that of the general population and this may have clinical implications. Further longitudinal research is needed with larger and randomised samples, using more targeted measures to better explore effectiveness of sensory modulation interventions.
现有研究证据表明，精神分裂症患者存在感觉处理困难。感觉调节在该人群中的应用越来越有证据支持。本研究旨在评估感觉调节干预对精神分裂症患者的健康、社会、认知和职业功能结果的影响程度。
本研究采用前瞻性观察队列研究设计，使用等待名单对照设计，在澳大利亚昆士兰州的两家大医院和医疗服务机构招募了使用感觉调节的患者（n=30）和未使用感觉调节干预的对照组患者（n=11）。使用独立和配对 t 检验以及混合方差分析等一系列计划比较分析结果，只要有统计学意义，就使用混合方差分析。分析的测量指标是干预前后的得分。
本研究在干预前和干预后，对照组和干预组之间均未发现统计学上的显著差异。然而，对干预组内的结果进行分析显示，在痛苦、职业功能以及健康和社会功能方面，干预前后的测试得分存在统计学上的显著改善，但在感觉处理和整体认知处理方面没有改善。对本研究的结果进行进一步分析，并与早期针对一般人群的研究结果进行比较，发现成人/青少年感觉量表（Adults/Adolescent Sensory Profile）中的低登记（Low Registration）和感觉回避（Sensation Avoiding）两个分量表，在精神分裂症患者和非精神分裂症患者之间存在显著差异。
本研究提供的证据表明，感觉调节干预可以作为标准护理的补充，在临床环境中适当应用。研究结果还表明，精神分裂症患者的感觉特征与一般人群不同，这可能具有临床意义。需要进一步进行纵向研究，纳入更大和随机的样本，使用更有针对性的测量方法，以更好地探索感觉调节干预的有效性。
