Effectiveness of Family Group Interventions for People With Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia Clinical Trial

— MSG  

Official title:

Evaluation of the Effects of Mutual Support and Psycho-educational Group Interventions for Family Caregivers of People With Schizophrenia

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT00940394
• Other study ID #: 216020
• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 2
• First received: July 15, 2009
• Last updated: August 19, 2014
• Start date: January 2007
• Est. completion date: December 2011

Study information

• Verified date: August 2014
• Source: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: Hong Kong: The Chinese University of Hong Kong / The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The mutual support group intervention would significantly improve the families' burden of care, functioning and social support, reduce the patients' severity of symptoms and re-hospitalizations, and reduce the demands for utilization of family services, when compared with the standard care group.

Description:

Family interventions in schizophrenia have shown positive effects on patients but little attention has been paid to their effects on family members, particularly those in non-Western countries. This multi-site randomized controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness of a bi-weekly, 12-session, family-led mutual support group for Chinese caregivers of schizophrenia sufferers over 36 months, compared with a family psychoeducation group program and standard psychiatric care. It was conducted with 114 families of outpatients with schizophrenia in Hong Kong of whom 38 were assigned randomly to a mutual support group, a psychoeducation group, or standard care. Families' psychosocial health status and patients' symptom severity and length of re-hospitalizations at recruitment, one-month, 18-month, and 36-month post-intervention were compared between groups.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 128
• Est. completion date: December 2011
• Est. primary completion date: September 2011
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: Both
• Age group: 18 Years to 50 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• family caregivers lived with and cared for one family member diagnosed with schizophrenia according to the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994)

• family caregivers were at least 18 years of age and could understand and read the Chinese (Mandarin) language; and

• family caregivers were free from any mental illness themselves.

Exclusion Criteria:

• the patients with schizophrenia suffered no co-morbidity due to other mental illness during recruitment to the study

• family caregivers cared for more than one family member with mental or chronic physical illness; and/or

• family caregivers had been the primary carers for less than three months

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Single Blind (Outcomes Assessor), Primary Purpose: Health Services Research

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Schizophrenia

Intervention

Behavioral:
• mutual support group
bi-weekly, 12-session, family-led mutual support group
• psychoeducation group
bi-weekly, 12-session, family psychoeducation group

Other:
• Standard care
Routine mental health care services provided by the outpatient clinic and related agencies for families of people with schizophrenia

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Hong Kong	Li Ka Shing Specialty OPD	Sha Tin	NT
Hong Kong	AHNH Psychiatric OPD	Taipo	NT

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Hong Kong, 

References & Publications (3)

Chien WT, Chan SW. The effectiveness of mutual support group intervention for Chinese families of people with schizophrenia: a randomised controlled trial with 24-month follow-up. Int J Nurs Stud. 2013 Oct;50(10):1326-40. doi: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2013.01.0 — View Citation

Chien WT, Thompson DR, Norman I. Evaluation of a peer-led mutual support group for Chinese families of people with schizophrenia. Am J Community Psychol. 2008 Sep;42(1-2):122-34. doi: 10.1007/s10464-008-9178-8. — View Citation

Chien WT, Thompson DR. An RCT with three-year follow-up of peer support groups for Chinese families of persons with schizophrenia. Psychiatr Serv. 2013 Oct;64(10):997-1005. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201200243. — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	length of re-hospitalizations		at recruitment, six-month, 18-month and 36-month post-intervention	No
Secondary	families' perceived social support		at recruitment, six-month, 18-month and 36-month post-intervention	No
Secondary	patients' symptom severity		at recruitment, six-month, 18-month and 36-month post-intervention	No

External Links

•   Effectiveness of Psychoeducation and Mutual Support Group Program for Family Caregivers of Chinese People with Schizophrenia