Eighth International Conference on Health, Wellness & Society

Abstract

Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness that requires long-term family support in recovery. It is important to enhance the family support. Siblings of persons with schizophrenia (SOPS) are one among the important family members who can provide the necessary long-term care in the absence of other caregivers or other caregivers are unable to take care of the affected siblings. Hence, involving SOPS in the care and treatment of their affected sibling is essential during the treatment. Psychoeducation is one of the evidence-based intervention that will benefit the family caregivers irrespective of their profile. This study evaluates the effects of brief need-based psychoeducation on the caregiving involvement of SOPS. Eighty SOPS were allocated in equal numbers to the intervention and treatment as usual groups in this matched controlled study. A semi-structured questionnaire on involvement was measured at baseline, and after the third-month post-intervention. RM-ANCOVA was conducted to test the effects of the intervention on siblings’ caregiving involvement. Both the groups were not different on socio-demographic and clinical profiles at baseline. There was a significant group × time interaction effect on caregiving involvement (F = 4.09; p =0.04; =0.06), wherein the brief psychoeducation group showed a significant increase in caregiving involvement with medium effect size from baseline to the third-month follow-up as compared to the treatment as usual group. The findings suggest that brief need-based psychoeducation may help in increasing caregiving involvement among SOPS.