title: Provision of group psychoeducation for relatives of persons in inpatient depression treatment--a cross-sectional survey of acute care hospitals in Germany.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Depressive disorders are often recurrent and place a high burden on patients and their relatives. Psychoeducational groups for relatives may reduce relatives' burden, help prevent relapses in patients, and are recommended by the German "National Disease Management Guideline Unipolar Depression". Since there is limited knowledge on the provision of psychoeducational groups for relatives of persons in inpatient depression treatment, we conducted a survey among acute care hospitals in Germany.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a two-step cross-sectional survey. Step I consisted of a questionnaire asking the heads of all psychiatric/psychosomatic acute care hospitals in Germany (N = 512) whether psychoeducational groups for relatives were provided within depression treatment, and if not, the reasons for not implementing them. In group offering hospitals the person responsible for conducting psychoeducational groups received a detailed questionnaire on intervention characteristics (step II). We performed descriptive data analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The response rate was 50.2% (N = 257) in step I and 58.4% in step II (N = 45). 35.4% of the responding hospitals offered psychoeducational groups for relatives of patients with depressive disorders. According to the estimates of the respondents, relatives of about one in five patients took part in psychoeducational groups in 2011. Groups were mostly provided by two moderators (62.2%) as continuous groups (77.8%), without patients' participation (77.8%), with up to ten participants (65.9%), consisting of four or fewer sessions (51.5%) which lasted between one and one and a half hours each (77.8%). The moderators in charge were mostly psychologists (43.9%) or physicians (26.8%). Approximately one third used published manuals. Reasons for not conducting such psychoeducational groups were lack of manpower (60.1%), time (44.9%) and financial constraints (24.1%). 25.3% mentioned adequate concepts of intervention as a required condition for initiating such groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Only a small proportion of relatives of patients with depressive disorders participated in psychoeducational groups in 2011 in Germany. Mostly short interventions were favoured and main implementation barriers were scarce resources. Brief interventions that fit with healthcare routine should be developed and tested within randomised controlled trials. This could promote the provision of psychoeducational groups for relatives as evidence-based practice in inpatient depression treatment in Germany.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Freiburg, Hauptstraße 5, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany. fabian.frank@uniklinik-freiburg.de.
authors.forename: Fabian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Frank
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rummel-Kluge
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.forename: Eva M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Bitzer
authors.forename: Lars P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Hölzel
mesh_terms: D000553:Ambulatory Care; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D017028:Caregivers / Q000193:education*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000628:therapy*; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D008297:Male; D012681:Sensitivity Training Groups; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires