A Review of Vocational Rehabilitation Models for Patients with Schizophrenia: Current Practices and Future Directions

Background: Employment has many benefits for patients with schizophrenia, not only reducing their economic burden but also improving their health and quality of life. However, there are many obstacles to employment for patients with schizophrenia.

Objective: To understand the current status of occupational rehabilitation in patients with schizophrenia and provide reference opinions for their clinical treatment and rehabilitation.

Method: A literature search is used to organize 77 influential articles from the past 30 years. The employment status, vocational rehabilitation status, and main models of schizophrenia patients were analyzed, and the advantages and disadvantages of several vocational rehabilitation models were compared. Based on this, research prospects were proposed.

Results: As a result, the employment rate of patients with schizophrenia is only 10%-20%. Vocational rehabilitation work is widely carried out abroad and effectively promotes the employment of patients. However, it is still in its infancy in China, mainly focusing on preliminary skills training and protective employment, with limited development of competitive employment.

Conclusion: Vocational rehabilitation has many benefits for patients with schizophrenia, and competitive employment is the latest trend in occupational rehabilitation for schizophrenia patients worldwide. In the future, vocational rehabilitation work should pay attention to both vocational skills training and supportive employment services, and provide diversified vocational rehabilitation services for patients.