Schizophrenia - Society and Culture

Society and Culture

In 2002 the term for schizophrenia in Japan was changed from Seishin-Bunretsu-Byō 精神分裂病 (mind-split-disease) to Tōgō-shitchō-shō 統合失調症 (integration disorder) to reduce stigma. The new name was inspired by the biopsychosocial model; it increased the percentage of patients who were informed of the diagnosis from 37% to 70% over three years.

In the United States, the cost of schizophrenia—including direct costs (outpatient, inpatient, drugs, and long-term care) and non-health care costs (law enforcement, reduced workplace productivity, and unemployment)—was estimated to be $62.7 billion in 2002. The book and film A Beautiful Mind chronicles the life of John Forbes Nash, a Nobel Prize-winning mathematician who was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Social stigma has been identified as a major obstacle in the recovery of patients with schizophrenia.