Abstract: Objective To explore the influence of telephone follow-up on home rehabilitation for patients with schizophrenia. Methods 200 patients with schizophrenia were assigned into experimental group and control group with 100 cases in each group. During their hospitalization,all patients were given conventional treating and nursing and were treated with atypical antipsychotic drugs. After getting a clinical recovery and discharge, the experimental group received telephone follow-up for 2 years while the control group received outpatient service follow-up. Results There was significant difference in scores of Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) in both groups with time (F=85.943, P=0.000). There was a significant interaction effect between intervention and time (F=6.458, P=0.000) and there was also a significant difference (F=26.012, P=0.000) between both groups on the scores of PANSS. At the end of the 6th, 12th, 18th and 24th month after discharge, the PANSS scores were significantly less in the experimental group than in the control group (P<0.05). The accumulative total relapse rate and frequency were significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group anytime after discharge (P<0.05).Conclusion The telephone follow-up can significantly improve the effect of home rehabilitation for the patients with schizophrenia. It is beneficial for the patients to control disease and reduce the relapse.

Key words: schizophrenia, follow-up, rehabilitation