Abstract:
Most of the family-based interventions focus on assisting patients more than the family caregivers. Family caregivers of schizophrenic patients require intervention which focuses more on their strengths than on solving problems for schizophrenic patients. For this study with 127 family caregivers of schizophrenic patients in Nonsung District, Nakornratchasima Province, Thailand, 63 were in the intervention group and 64 were in the control group. The 4-session intervention was held every other week. Psychological well-being and burden of care were assessed pre-intervention, post-intervention, and at 3-month follow-up. The intervention group had significant increase in psychological well-being after receiving the intervention, but did not have significant decrease in burden of care after receiving the intervention. Further research is needed to develop specific interventions to better alleviate burden of care for family caregivers, which might include skill-building and psychoeducation for schizophrenic patient care.
