Brief Family Intervention for Caregivers of Patients with Schizophrenia

Abstract

Background: Psychoeducational treatments, that have been developed and supported by over 50 years of research that address the needs of family members have consistently shown that clients’ outcomes improve when the needs of family members are met. In spite of its clinical relevance and established effectiveness, family psychoeducation is underutilized in clinical practice. Aim: To study the effectiveness of brief family psychoeducation module for family members/ caregivers of hospitalized patients with schizophrenia. Method: Experimental research was conducted on 684 family caregivers of hospitalized patients with schizophrenia. With simple random sampling technique, 128 participants were recruited and further randomly allotted in two groups (intervention and treatment as usual). Pre and post assessment were done to assess the level of psychological distress (depression anxiety and stress) and family burden. Result: High level of psychological distress in the form of depression anxiety and stress and also high level of family burden was reported by the caregivers. Brief family intervention significantly reduces the Psychological distress and family burden by increasing the knowledge and understanding about illness and treatment. Conclusion: Treatment as usual is making significant improvement but implementation of brief family intervention program can multiply the positive effects.