The Effect of Psychoeducation Based on Uncertainty In Illness Theory On Schizophrenia Caregivers

It was determined that schizophrenia was seen in 19.78 million people in 2017 and constituted 0.51% of "disability adjusted life years" due to all causes. It has been determined that patients with schizophrenia have care needs in many areas related to daily care such as self-care, relationships and coping even in the early period after discharge. This situation shows that they need support to continue their daily life independently. In this context, families are the closest accessible support elements to the patients. Living with schizophrenia is a difficult situation to deal with for the family as well as for the patient. Caregivers in schizophrenia are dealing with an uncertain future accompanied by hope, fear, or both during the illness process.

Theorist Merle H. Mishel's Uncertainty in Illness Theory (UIT) emerged within the framework of the concept of "uncertainty in illness". The Reconceptualized Uncertainty in Illness Theory (RUIT) was developed to explain chronic conditions that cause individuals to experience uncertainty. "Uncertainty in illness" arises when disease-related processes have characteristics such as complexity, inconsistency, unpredictability, and lack of knowledge. RUIT provides a framework for nurses to develop interventions to improve psychological and behavioral outcomes that occur under uncertainty.Interventions for managing uncertainty help individuals gain knowledge, solve problems, see their health conditions manageable, and improve communication and coping skills. When RUIT based interventions are applied to cancer patients, many positive results have been reported in psychosocial aspects, especially in managing uncertainty.

This study that randomized controlled single blinded experimental nature, was conducted between April 2019 and August 2020 at psychiatry clinic with hospitalized schizophrenia patients caregivers, total of 54 including 27 interventions and 27 control groups. The data were collected by "Caregiver Information Form, Visual Analogue Scale, Intolerance to Uncertainty Scale, Psychological Well-being Scale, Stress Coping Styles Scale". The Uncertainty Management Psychoeducation Program, consisting of a total of five sessions was applied to the intervention group. No intervention was applied to the caregivers in the control group. The psychoeducational intervention, which was individually designed consisting of one session per day for each caregiver and five sessions with a gap of at least two days between sessions, was completed within two weeks. Pre-test and post-test measurements were also carried out during this period, and scales were applied for the pre-test at the beginning of the first session and for the post-test at the end of the last session. Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon tests were used for hypotheses.

Inclusion criteria

• Being primarily responsible for the care of the patient diagnosed with schizophrenia according to The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)
• For caregiver; being above 18 years of age
• Being literate
• For patient; being over 18 years of age
• Being diagnosed with schizophrenia for at least a year

Exclusion criteria

• Having any physical (hearing, speech, etc.) or mental disorder (psychotic disorder, mental retardation, etc.)
• Being a participant in a similar research
• For patient; having other accompanying mental disorders