Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-r7xzm Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T08:27:18.712Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

An Assessment of the Educational Needs of Chronic Psychiatric Patients and their Relatives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Kim T. Mueser*
Affiliation:
Medical College of Pennsylvania at Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute, 3200 Henry Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19129, USA
Alan S. Bellack
Affiliation:
Medical College of Pennsylvania
Julie H. Wade
Affiliation:
Medical College of Pennsylvania
Steven L. Sayers
Affiliation:
Medical College of Pennsylvania
Carole K. Rosenthal
Affiliation:
Friends Hospital, Pennsylvania
*
Correspondence

Abstract

Both psychiatric patients and their relatives benefit from learning about mental illness and how to cope with it, but the specific interests of these consumers remain unclear. To determine specific educational needs and to compare the needs of different consumers, a questionnaire survey was conducted with a sample of patients with schizophrenia and affective disorder and their relatives. Both patients and relatives reported strong interest in learning more about psychiatric illness and strategies for coping with common problems, but patients with schizophrenia were less interested than patients with affective disorder and both sets of relatives. Discriminant analyses revealed that needs differed as a function of patient diagnosis, patient/relative status, and relatives' membership of a self-help and advocacy organisation. Consumers of mental health services are capable of specifying their own educational needs, and educational programmes should be tailored to meet these.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1992 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association (1987) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd edn, revised) (DSM–III–R). Washington, DC: APA.Google Scholar
Anderson, C. M., Reiss, D. J. & Hogarty, G. E. (1986) Schizophrenia and the Family. New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Bisbee, C. C. & Lee, L. N. (1988) Patient Education in Psychiatric Illness: A Practical Program Guide. Tuscaloosa: Bryce Hospital.Google Scholar
Brown, G. W., Birley, J. L. T. & Wing, J. K. (1972) Influence of family life on the course of schizophrenic disorders: a replication. British Journal of Psychiatry, 121, 241258.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cattell, R. B. (1966) The meaning and strategic use of factor analysis. In Handbook of Multivariate Experimental Psychology (ed. Cattell, R. B.). Chicago: Rand McNally.Google Scholar
Christie, K. A., Burke, J. D., Regier, D. A., et al (1988) Epidemiologic evidence for early onset of mental disorders and higher risk of drug abuse in young adults. American Journal of Psychiatry, 148, 971975.Google Scholar
Dearth, N., Labenski, B. J., Mott, M. E., et al (1986) Families Helping Families: Living with Schizophrenia. New York: W. W. Norton.Google Scholar
Fadden, G., Bebbington, P. & Kuipers, L. (1987) The impact of functional psychiatric illness on the patient's family. British Journal of Psychiatry, 150, 285292.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Falloon, I. R. H., Boyd, J. L. & McGill, C. W. (1984) Family Care of Schizophrenia. New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Hatfield, A. B. (1981) Coping effectiveness in families of the mentally ill: an exploratory study. Journal of Psychiatric Treatment and Evaluation, 3, 1119.Google Scholar
Hatfield, A. B., Spanoil, L. & Zipple, A. M. (1987) Expressed emotion: a family perspective. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 13, 221226.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Herz, M. I. & Melville, C. (1980) Relapse in schizophrenia. American Journal of Psychiatry, 137, 801805.Google ScholarPubMed
Holden, D. F. & Lewine, R. R. J. (1982) How families evaluate mental health professionals, resources, and effects of illness. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 8, 626633.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kleinbaum, D. G., Kupper, L. L. & Muller, K. E. (1988) Applied Regression Analysis and Other Multivariable Methods. Boston: PWS-Kent.Google Scholar
Leff, J., Kuipers, L., Berkowitz, R., et al (1985) A controlled trial of social intervention in the families of schizophrenic patients: two-year follow-up. British Journal of Psychiatry, 146, 594600.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
MacCarthy, B., Benson, J. & Brewin, C. R. (1986) Task motivation and problem appraisal in long-term psychiatric patients. Psychological Medicine, 16, 431438.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meehl, P. E. (1975) Hedonic capacity: some conjectures. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 39, 295307.Google ScholarPubMed
Miklowitz, D. J., Goldstein, M. J., Nuechterlein, K. H., et al (1988) Family factors and the course of bipolar affective disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 45, 225231.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mintz, L. I., Liberman, R. P., Miklowitz, D. J., et al (1987) Expressed emotion: a call for partnership among relatives, patients and professionals. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 13, 227235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mueser, K. T. (1989) Behavioral family therapy. In A Clinical Guide for the Treatment of Schizophrenia (ed. Bellack, A. S.), pp. 207236. New York: Plenum Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mueser, K. T., Yarnold, P. R., Levinson, D. F., et al (1990) Prevalence of substance abuse in schizophrenia: demographic and clinical correlates. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 16, 3156.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nuechterlein, K. H. & Dawson, M. E. (1984) Information processing and attentional functioning in the developmental cause of schizophrenic disorders. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 10, 160202.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, J. & Birchwood, M. (1990) Relatives and patients as partners in the management of schizophrenia. British Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 654660.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spanoil, L., Jung, H., Zipple, A. M., et al (1987) Families as a resource in the rehabilitation of the severely psychiatrically disabled. In Families of the Mentally Ill: Coping and Adaptation (eds Hatfield, A. B. & Lefley, H. P.), pp. 167190. New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Swezey, R. L. & Swezey, A. M. (1976) Educational theory as a basis for patient education. Journal of Chronic Diseases, 29, 417422.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tarrier, N., Barrowclough, C., Vaughn, C., et al (1988) A controlled trial of behavioural intervention with families to reduce relapse. British Journal of Psychiatry, 153, 532542.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tarrier, N. & Barrowclough, C., (1990) Family interventions for schizophrenia. Behavior Modification, 14, 408440.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wallace, C. J., Boone, S. E., Donahoe, C. P., et al (1985) Psychosocial rehabilitation for the chronic mentally disabled: social and independent living skills training. In Behavioral Treatment of Adult Disorders (ed. Barlow, D.). New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Walsh, M. (1985) Schizophrenia: Straight Talk for Families and Friends. New York: William Morrow.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.