Stades d'observance des patients schizophrènes chroniques

Most chronic patients who suffer from schizophrenia (according to DSM-IV-TR criteria) present full or partial non-adherence to treatment [Med Hypotheses 68 (2007) 12-21]. The aim of this theoretical article is to transpose stages of change used in the transtheoretical model onto stages of medical compliance [Prochaska JO, DiClemente C. L'approche transthéorique. In: Norcross J, Goldfried M, editors. Psychothéragie intégrative. Paris: Desclée de Brouwer; 1998]. This approach is an integrative model used for understanding addiction and recovery. The purpose of applying the transtheoretical model is to improve our understanding of medication compliance. The stages of medication compliance are different phases through which a schizophrenic patient must pass before adhering to a prescribed treatment. The stages can also be used as a way to detect whether a patient is ready to undergo compliance therapy for schizophrenia. This brief therapy [Br Med J 312 (1996) 345-9] is designed to help patients that are reluctant to acknowledge the need for the very treatment that might lower their symptoms and give them some relief [Br Med J 312 (1996) 345-9].