AIM: This paper reports a study to examine the effectiveness of a 12-session mutual support group for Chinese families caring for a relative with schizophrenia compared with a psycho-educational group and routine family support services in Hong Kong. BACKGROUND: Schizophrenia is a disruptive and distressing illness for patients and their families. With the current trend of community care for mental illness, there is evidence that family intervention reduces patient relapse and re-hospitalization, satisfies the health needs of families and enhances their coping capabilities. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was conducted from May 2002 to June 2003 with 96 Chinese families of a relative with schizophrenia selected from two psychiatric outpatient clinics in Hong Kong. Families were randomly assigned to receive mutual support (n = 32), psycho-education (n = 33) or standard care only (n = 31). The interventions were delivered at outpatient clinics over a 6-month period. Pre- and post- (1 week and 6 months) testing took place and families' functioning, mental health service utilization, patients' level of functioning and duration of re-hospitalization were measured. RESULTS: At both post-test periods, family caregivers and patients in the mutual support group reported statistically significant improvements on family and patients' level of functioning, when compared with their counterparts in the psycho-education and standard care groups. CONCLUSIONS: The findings support the use of mutual support groups as an effective modality of family intervention in a Chinese population caring for a family member with schizophrenia to improve both family and patient functioning.
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AIM: This paper reports a study to examine the effectiveness of a 12-session mutual support group for Chinese families caring for a relative with schizophrenia compared with a psycho-educational group and routine family support services in Hong Kong. BACKGROUND:Schizophrenia is a disruptive and distressing illness for patients and their families. With the current trend of community care for mental illness, there is evidence that family intervention reduces patient relapse and re-hospitalization, satisfies the health needs of families and enhances their coping capabilities. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was conducted from May 2002 to June 2003 with 96 Chinese families of a relative with schizophrenia selected from two psychiatricoutpatient clinics in Hong Kong. Families were randomly assigned to receive mutual support (n = 32), psycho-education (n = 33) or standard care only (n = 31). The interventions were delivered at outpatient clinics over a 6-month period. Pre- and post- (1 week and 6 months) testing took place and families' functioning, mental health service utilization, patients' level of functioning and duration of re-hospitalization were measured. RESULTS: At both post-test periods, family caregivers and patients in the mutual support group reported statistically significant improvements on family and patients' level of functioning, when compared with their counterparts in the psycho-education and standard care groups. CONCLUSIONS: The findings support the use of mutual support groups as an effective modality of family intervention in a Chinese population caring for a family member with schizophrenia to improve both family and patient functioning.
Authors: Lawrence H Yang; Grace Y Lai; Ming Tu; Maggie Luo; Ahtoy Wonpat-Borja; Valerie W Jackson; Roberto Lewis-Fernández; Lisa Dixon Journal: Transcult Psychiatry Date: 2013-12-06
Authors: Shyhrete Rexhaj; Claude Leclerc; Charles Bonsack; Philippe Golay; Jérôme Favrod Journal: Front Psychiatry Date: 2017-09-21 Impact factor: 4.157