Psychiatry Research EG

Background Few studies in Egypt have examined the effectiveness of psychoeducational programmes as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy in patients with schizophrenia. This is especially relevant because of the traditional collectivistic nature of the Egyptian culture, where the primary (especially financial) responsibility falls on families and not on society at large. Aim We aimed to study the effect of a culturally adapted behavioural psychoeducational programme on the attitude of a sample of the caregivers of patients with schizophrenia in Egypt. Patients and methods Thirty caregivers of patients with schizophrenia were randomly selected to receive 14 sessions of a culturally adapted behavioural family psychoeducational programme (CA-BFPEP). A matching control group of 30 caregivers on all outcome parameters received standard treatment as usual for 6 months. Preintervention and postintervention assessment included primary outcomes that assessed clinical, social, quality of life, and attitude towards medications measures, using the Arabic versions of the community attitudes toward the mentally ill (CAMI) and knowledge about schizophrenia interview (KASI). Results There was a statistically significant difference ( P <0.001) between pretreatment and posttreatment scores for caregivers receiving CA-BFPEP on CAMI and KASI scores. There was also a statistically significant difference ( P <0.001) between cases receiving CA-BFPEP and controls receiving standard treatment as usual on intervention outcome measures using CAMI and KASI. Conclusion These results demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing family therapy psychoeducational interventions in different cultural settings, with relatively minor modifications. This may have implications for mental health policy makers to make such programmes available for patients and mental health professionals.