The Efficacy of Quality of Life Therapy on Mental Health in the Families of Patients with Chronic Psychiatric Disorders

Abstract

Background and Aim: Caring for and living with patients with chronic psychiatric disorders may cause high levels of stress for their families. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of quality of life therapy (QOLT) on mental health in the families of patients with chronic psychiatric disorders. Methods: In this semi-experimental, controlled study with pretest-posttest, 60 family members of patients with chronic psychiatric disorders were randomly selected from the centers affiliated with the State Welfare Organization of Shahrekord, southwest Iran. First, these people were matched and then assigned to two groups of 30 each, controls and cases. The General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) was filled out by the participants before and after the intervention. The experimental group attended eight two-hour sessions of the QOLT a week, but the controls did not participate in any interventions. The data were analyzed by t-test in SPSS 18. Results: The QOLT helped to improve mental health in the families of patients with chronic psychiatric disorders, such that physical complaints, anxiety and sleeplessness, social functioning, and depression, as mental health subscales, were significantly different between the two groups after the intervention (P>0.05). Conclusion: The QOLT can be an approach to improve mental health among the families of patients with chronic psychiatric disorders.