The Effect of Psycho-Educational Interventions on the Quality of Life of the Family Caregivers of the Patients with Spinal Cord Injury: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Document Type : Original article

Authors

1 Community Based Psychiatric Care Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran and Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

2 Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

3 Community Based Psychiatric Care Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

4 Department of Biostatistics, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

5 Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

Abstract

Background: Family caregivers usually report the reduction of their life quality due to one of the family member’s spinal cord injury. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of psycho-educational interventions on the life quality of the family caregivers of the patients with spinal cord injury.Methods: The present randomized controlled trial was conducted on 72 family caregivers who had the primary responsibility of taking care of the patients with spinal cord injury. The participants were randomly divided into intervention (n=36) and control groups (n=36). The intervention group was involved in 90-minute educational sessions held once a week for four weeks. Both groups completed SF-36 questionnaire before and 2 and 6 weeks after the intervention. Then, the data were analyzed through independent t-test, Chi-square, and repeated measures ANOVA.Results: All the caregivers had low quality of life and the lowest mean score was related to mental health in both groups. After the intervention, various dimensions of life quality had improved in the intervention group’s caregivers compared to the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion: The study results revealed the positive effect of psycho-educational interventions on the life quality of the caregivers of the patients with spinal cord injury. According to the results, the authorities have to pay special attention to the problems of this group and educational interventions have to be continuously followed.Trial Registration Number: IRCT2013070811388N2

Keywords

International Journal of Community Based Nursing & Midwifery
Volume 2, Issue 1 - Serial Number 5
January 2014
Pages 31-39

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