Sailing Can Improve Quality of Life of People with Severe Mental Disorders: Results of a Cross Over Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a sailing rehabilitation program on the quality of life (QoL) in a sample of patients with severe mental disorders. The study adopted a randomized, crossover, waiting-list controlled design. The participants enrolled in the study were outpatients diagnosed with severe chronic mental disorders. The participants (N=40) exposed to rehabilitation with sailing took part in a series of supervised cruises near the gulf of Cagliari, South Sardinia, and showed a statistically significant improvement of their quality of life compared to the control group. This improvement was comparable to the improvement in psychopathologic status and social functioning as shown in a previous report of the same research project. The improvement was maintained at follow-up only during the trial and for a few months later: after 12 months, patients returned to their baseline values and their quality of life showed a worsening trend. This is the first study to show that rehabilitation with sailing may improve the quality of life of people with severe chronic mental disorders. In all likelihood, a program grounded on learning how to manage a sailing vessel - during which patients perform cruises that emphasize the exploration of the marine environment by sailing - might be interesting enough and capture the attention of the patients so as to favour greater effectiveness of standard rehabilitation protocols, but this should be specifically tested.

“VelaMente?!” - Sailin in a Crew to Improve Self-Efficacy in People with Psychosocial Disabilities: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…to confirm the hypothesis that sailing in a crew improves the QoL of people with severe psychosocial disabilities, as demonstrated in the pilot study [ 41 ];…”

“…This project was proposed in order to confirm and extend findings of the already mentioned RCT [ 41 , 42 ] by recruiting a new sample and providing other changes: the enrollment of a wider sample of people with severe psychosocial disabilities (N 64 instead of N 40); a more structured sailing course, including theoretical and practical lessons overall similar to a basic sailing course, but adapted to the needs of each participant; the concurrent employment of sailing teachers and mental health operators; the choose of two regular sailboats usually used by crews of sailors during regattas.…”

“…Indeed, sport activities have often been proposed as rehabilitative interventions for people with severe psychosocial disabilities [ 39 , 40 ]. Recently, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) [ 41 , 42 ] evaluated the efficacy of a rehabilitative intervention focused on sailing on several clinical and psychosocial outcomes of people with severe psychosocial disabilities. Based on recovery promotion [ 43 ], this study pointed out the efficacy of sailing to improve the quality of life, social skills and psychopathological residual symptoms of participating patients [ 41 , 42 ].…”

The Effects of “VelaMente?!” Project on Social Functioning of People With Severe Psychosocial Disabilities

“…In order to confirm and extend the findings of a previous study about the efficacy of sailing on psychopathological symptoms and social functioning in people with severe psychosocial disabilities [ 41 , 42 ], our group established the project “VelaMente? !”, a rehabilitative intervention focused on the promotion of physical activity (sailing in a crew) in people with severe psychosocial disabilities [ 43 ].…”

“…!”, a rehabilitative intervention focused on the promotion of physical activity (sailing in a crew) in people with severe psychosocial disabilities [ 43 ]. The main findings of the previous study [ 41 , 42 ] concerned a statistically significant improvement of the clinical status (p < 0.0001, assessed by Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale - BPRS), the social functioning (p < 0.0001, assessed by HoNOS Scale) and the quality of life (p < 0.001, assessed by WHOQOL-Bref) of people with severe psychosocial disabilities attending a rehabilitative intervention focused on sailing when compared to a control group.…”