title: Effect of a family psychoeducational program on relatives of schizophrenia patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Family psychoeducational programs have been shown to be effective in terms of knowledge acquirement and relapse prevention, but few studies have looked at whether one mode of educational method is more effective than another. The aim of the present study was to compare several modes of educational approaches and to elucidate which mode of education is more effective.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 110 relatives of 95 patients with schizophrenia received three types of family psychoeducational programs between January 1995 and September 2003: a small group with two sessions (P1), a large group with nine sessions (P2), and a large group with five sessions (P3). In addition to the demographic data, acquired knowledge was measured using the modified Knowledge About Schizophrenia Interview (KASI), family expressed emotion (EE), and relapse episodes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall there were significant increases in many KASI subcategory scores after the three programs, in mothers in particular. The change in KASI scores indicated that the low EE group was able to be highly educated and that the relatives of non-relapsers were more effectively educated. As for the mode of the family psychoeducational program, the P1 and P2 groups surpassed the P3 in terms of knowledge acquired.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Effects of family psychoeducation may depend not on the number of members or sessions but on the time spent on the program per member.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kochi Medical School, Kochi, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sota
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shimodera
authors.forename: Masaru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kii
authors.forename: Kayoko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okamura
authors.forename: Koichirou
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suto
authors.forename: Mitsuru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suwaki
authors.forename: Hirokazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: Ryosuke
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fujito
authors.forename: Shimpei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Inoue
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017028:Caregivers / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology*; D003479:Curriculum; D019260:Expressed Emotion; D005196:Family Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006127:Group Structure; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000628:therapy*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D055502:Secondary Prevention; D016896:Treatment Outcome