Functional outcome in patients with schizophrenia: The concept and measurement

Abstract

Functional outcome has attracted interest from the perspective of interventions in patients with schizophrenia. It includes a wide range of abilities, from successful performance on neurocognitive tests to living independently in the community. The functional outcome is classified into three levels: neuropsychological performance, functional capacity, and functional performance. In the last decades, much effort has been directed into the development of assessment measures covering these domains of functional outcomes. The paper presents the concept of functional outcome and an overview of the assessments tools. Factors affecting predictability of functional outcomes and cautions in the process of translation into foreign languages are also discussed.