The Effects of a Psychosocial Support Program on Perceived Stress of Family Caregivers of Patients with Mental Disorders

Background: Taking caring of patients with mental disorders is stressful and people who take care of these patients need to receive enough support and training to overcome this challenging situation. The present study was aimed at investigating the effects of a psychosocial support program on perceived stress of family caregivers of patients with mental disorders. Materials and Methods: This randomized controlled clinical trial was performed on 64 family caregivers of patients with mental disorders referred to Noor and Hazrat-e-Ali Asghar hospital in Isfahan, Iran, in 2018-19. The participants were randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups using a random number table. In the intervention group, the training program was held in 6 sessions of 90-minute training classes twice a week. Data were collected using a demographic characteristics form and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) before, immediately after, and 1 month after the intervention. Descriptive and inferential statistical tests such as Chi-square, Mann-Whitney, independent t-test, repeated measures ANOVA, and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test were used to analyze the data in SPSS software. Results: The result of the study showed that the total mean score of perceived stress in the intervention group was significantly less than the control group immediately after (F2=66.29, p<0.001) and 1 month after the intervention (F2=66.29, p<0.001). Conclusions: Delivering a training program on the different dimensions of support family caregivers need will reduce the perceived stress of family caregivers of patients with mental disorders. Therefore, the implementation of this intervention is recommended in this group of caregivers.

[1]  H. Agerskov,et al.  Nurses' attitudes regarding the importance of families in nursing care: a cross-sectional study. , 2020, Journal of Clinical Nursing.

[2]  A. Pitkänen,et al.  Effectiveness of psychosocial interventions on quality of life of patients with schizophrenia and related disorders: A systematic review. , 2019, Archives of psychiatric nursing.

[3]  R. George,et al.  Effect of Hardiness Training on Perceived Stress and Ways of Coping among Family Caregivers of Patients with Schizophrenia , 2018 .

[4]  M. Heidari,et al.  Effects of family-centered empowerment intervention on stress, anxiety, and depression among family caregivers of patients with epilepsy , 2018, Epilepsy & Behavior.

[5]  A. Irajpour,et al.  Challenges of Family Caregivers of Patients with Mental Disorders in Iran: A Narrative Review , 2018, Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery research.

[6]  M. Khazaei,et al.  The Effect of Social Support Skill-training Group Intervention on Perceived Social Support in Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder , 2018, Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery research.

[7]  I. Chi,et al.  A Systematic Review of Psychosocial Interventions to Cancer Caregivers , 2017, Front. Psychol..

[8]  Richard Schulz,et al.  Families Caring for an Aging America , 2016 .

[9]  M. Moeini,et al.  Analysis of the effects of a support program based on psychosocial needs of families on care burdens of family caregivers of patients with ischemic heart disease hospitalized in Chamran heart ward of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences , 2016 .

[10]  S. Mami,et al.  The Effectiveness of Family Psychoeducation (Atkinson and Coia Model) on Mental Health Family Members of Patients with Psychosis , 2016 .

[11]  G. Salum,et al.  Annual research review: A meta-analysis of the worldwide prevalence of mental disorders in children and adolescents. , 2015, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[12]  B. Kohrt,et al.  Adapting the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) model of police-mental health collaboration in a low-income, post-conflict country: curriculum development in Liberia, West Africa. , 2015, American journal of public health.

[13]  M. Gohari,et al.  The effect of communication skills training on perceived stress of caregivers of elderly with Alzheimer's disease referral to Iranian Alzheimer Association in 2012 , 2014 .

[14]  M. Shahriari,et al.  The effectiveness of a supportive educative group intervention on family caregiver burden of patients with heart failure , 2014, Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery research.

[15]  J. Zauszniewski,et al.  Factors associated with the emotional distress of women family members of adults with serious mental illness. , 2014, Archives of psychiatric nursing.

[16]  J. Ballesteros,et al.  Effectiveness of a Psychoeducational Intervention Group Program in the Reduction of the Burden Experienced by Caregivers of Patients With Dementia: The EDUCA-II Randomized Trial , 2014, Alzheimer disease and associated disorders.

[17]  H. Allore,et al.  The Effect of Psychosocial Support Intervention on Depression in Patients with Dementia and Their Family Caregivers: An Assessor-Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial , 2013, Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders Extra.

[18]  V. Patel,et al.  Effect of psychosocial interventions on social functioning in depression and schizophrenia: meta-analysis , 2013, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[19]  R. Romero-Moreno,et al.  Spirituality and self-efficacy in dementia family caregiving: trust in God and in yourself , 2012, International Psychogeriatrics.

[20]  F. Aein,et al.  The effect of group discussion and telephone counselling on perceived stress of women as caregivers of patient with Alzheimer disease , 2012 .

[21]  Sucharita Narasipuram,et al.  Quality of life and perception of burden among caregivers of persons with mental illness , 2012 .

[22]  S. Chair,et al.  The effectiveness of caregiver psychosocial interventions on the psychosocial wellbeing, physical health and quality of life of stroke family caregivers and their stroke survivors: A systematic review , 2012, JBI library of systematic reviews.

[23]  S. Chan.  Global perspective of burden of family caregivers for persons with schizophrenia. , 2011, Archives of psychiatric nursing.

[24]  G. Nijpels,et al.  Effectiveness of case management among older adults with early symptoms of dementia and their primary informal caregivers: a randomized clinical trial. , 2011, International journal of nursing studies.

[25]  A. Navidian,et al.  The effect of psycho-education on depression, anxiety and stress in family caregivers of patients with mental disorders , 2010 .

[26]  K. Thomas,et al.  A systematic review of psychosocial interventions for family carers of palliative care patients , 2010, BMC palliative care.

[27]  Mika Kivimäki,et al.  Psychological and Somatic Symptoms of Anxiety and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: The Health and Social Support Prospective Cohort Study , 2010, Biological Psychiatry.

[28]  S. Anderson,et al.  POSTPARTUM FOLLOW-UP: Can Psychosocial Support Reduce Newborn Readmissions? , 2010, MCN. The American journal of maternal child nursing.

[29]  V. Sanjosé,et al.  The informal caregiver's burden of dependent people: theory and empirical review. , 2009, Archives of gerontology and geriatrics.

[30]  D. Roth,et al.  Predictors of improvement in social support: Five-year effects of a structured intervention for caregivers of spouses with Alzheimer's disease. , 2006, Social science & medicine.

[31]  Robert A Short,et al.  Burden in schizophrenia caregivers: impact of family psychoeducation and awareness of patient suicidality. , 2003, Family process.

[32]  T. Kamarck,et al.  A global measure of perceived stress. , 1983, Journal of health and social behavior.

[33]  S. Vaghee,et al.  The Effect of Stress Management Training on Positive Experiences of Families Caring for Patients with Schizophrenia , 2017 .

[34]  R. Sahand,et al.  EVALUATION OF MENTAL DISORDERS INCIDENCE TREND IN IRAN , 2014 .

[35]  Zeinalian Pegah,et al.  VALIDITY AND THE CULTURAL ADAPTATION OF THE CARERS’ NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR SCHIZOPHRENIA AND ASSESSING THE NEEDS OF FAMILY MEMBERS OF BIPOLAR MOOD DISORDER AND SCHIZOPHRENIA SPECTRUM PATIENTS , 2011 .