Authors (including presenting author) :
Sezto NW(1)(3), Wong CT(1)(3), Chan LW(2)(3), Lau W(1)(3), Yuen TY(1)(3), Mui YS(2)(3), Cheng SP(2)(3), Au WC(1)(3), Wong KK(1)(3)
Affiliation :
(1)Department of Occupational Therapy, (2)Department of Psychiatry,(3)United Christian Hospital
Introduction :
HA currently takes care of nearly 150,000 patients with mental illness whose age fall between 18 and 64. And 45,000 of them are suffering from severe mental illness such as schizophrenia. Family psychoeducation (FPE) is one of the evidence-based practices endorsed by the Center for Mental Health Services for individuals suffering from severe mental illness. Reviews show the efficacy of FPE in reduction of relapse, readmission, length of hospital stay and improvement of their family members’ understanding and well-being.
Objectives :
(1) Equip skill and knowledge of families & clients with mental illness on positive communication skill, problem solving techniques & understanding of basic facts of mental illness through the FPE program (2) Evaluate the effectiveness of the FPE program for the clients with SMI and their family members.
Methodology :
Participants were recruited from two adult psychiatric day hospitals of the Kowloon East Cluster of the Hospital Authority of Hong Kong. A pretest and posttest design was employed and a 7-session based FPE program was implemented. Outcome measures were categorized as: (a) Quality of life; and (b) Caregiver stress.
Result & Outcome :
From October 2018 to October 2019, a total of 24 adult psychiatric day-patients suffering from schizophrenia and their family members were recruited. The completed data set were analyzed using paired t-test. In the Quality of life aspect, there was improvement in the WHOQOL-BREF (HK) scale in Q15 “How well are you able to get around?” (p< .05); Q22 “How satisfied are you with the support you get from your friends?” (p< .05); Q27 “To what extend do you feel other people accept you?”(p< .05) . In the caregiver stress aspect, there were significant improvement in the short version of the Chronic Stressors Scale in Q3“Bizzare behaviours made by ill relative”(p< .05) ; Q13 “Household living affected due to care of the person” (p< .05) & Q 15 “Cannot participate in social activities due to care of the ill relative” (p < .05). In conclusion, preliminary results support the positive effects of the Chinese version of FPE in reducing caregiver stress and enhance the QOL of both clients having severe mental illness and their family members. It would have great implications on clinical application. Further vigorous research with randomized controlled trial and larger sample size is highly recommended in the future.
