Effect of an open-door policy combined with a structured activity programme on the residual symptoms of schizophrenic in-patients. A six-month randomised controlled trial in Yanbian, Jilin.

Fifty female schizophrenic patients on the same locked ward were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Experimental group subjects were given as much autonomy and freedom as possible (they were permitted to leave the ward at will) and were encouraged to take part in collective activities. The control group were not permitted to leave the ward and did not take part in these activities. All patients were evaluated at enrollment and after six months-using Chinese versions of the Scale for Assessment of Negative Symptoms and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale-by psychiatrists who were blind to patients' treatment status. After the six-month intervention the severity of all types of both negative and positive symptoms and the mean dosage of medication in the experimental group were significantly less than in the control group.