ObjectiveTo compare the intervention effect of Case Management and Group Work in discharged schizophrenic patients.

MethodsA total of 100 patients with stable schizophrenia who were discharged from a mental health center in a district of Shanghai were randomly divided into two groups： case management （CM） and group work （GW）， with 50 patients each. The group work method and case management model were used， respectively， to provide psychiatric symptom assessment，medication guidance，functional training，health education and other services to for 6 months. Both Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale （PANSS） and Social Disability Screening Schedule （SDSS） were used for assessment at the beginning and at the end of 6^th month. The conditions and the improvement of social function of these two groups were compared.

ResultsBefore and after the intervention，the positive symptom score，negative symptom score and PANSS total score of the CM group were decreased，the difference was statistically significant（t=4.214，3.926，3.929，P<0.001）. The PANSS score of the GW group only had significant difference before and after the general pathology and the total score（t=2.195，2.466，P<0.05）.There were significant differences in SDSS scores between these two groups before and after the intervention（P＜0.001）. There was a significant difference in the reduction rate of positive symptom score between the two groups（z=-2.937，P<0.05）. There was also a significant difference in the reduction rate of SDSS scores（z=-3.834，P<0.001）.

ConclusionBoth case management and group work can stabilize the condition of schizophrenia patients and improve social function，but there is a slight difference in the emphasis of the two methods.