Leisure-Based Interventions in Adults with Schizophrenia: A Scoping Review

Background Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness characterized by psychosis, apathy, social withdrawal, and cognitive impairment, which results in impaired functioning in work, school, parenting, self-care, independent living, interpersonal relationships, and leisure time. Aim To explore the existing literature related to leisure-based interventions for adults with schizophrenia. Method A systematic search was conducted using Arksey and O’Malley’s framework with studies published on leisure-based intervention from January 1990 to December 2023. Results The review included 11 articles in the study. The quantitative research found that many types of leisure activities, such as cooking groups, discussions, board games, arts and crafts, painting, beading, sewing, clay work, paper crafts, and so on, were utilized as interventions. Qualitative studies found that individuals with schizophrenia spent less time in social and leisure activities and more time relaxing and doing nothing. Conclusion The study highlights the need to conduct further research on leisure-based interventions using various study designs like randomized controlled trials and mixed methods to understand its effectiveness among individuals with schizophrenia.