Effectiveness of family didactic-therapeutic package for managing symptoms of Schizophrenia spectrum disorders

This study was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of family didactic-therapeutic package on symptoms management in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs). This experiential study with a clinical trial, had a pretest-posttest design and was conducted in a quasi-experimental manner. The population included all families/caregivers of patients with SSDs who had a case in Ardabil Welfare Office in ۲۰۲۰, and were diagnosed by a psychiatrist (a patient's family refers to his/her father, mother, spouse, or child volunteered to attend the didactic-therapeutic sessions). The sample consisted of ۴۰ patients' caregivers, selected by the convenience sampling, and randomly divided into the experimental (n = ۲۰) and control (n = ۲۰) group. Descriptive statistical methods were used to describe the data, while MANCOVA was performed to test the hypotheses. Significant differences were observed between the experimental and control groups in terms of symptoms management (p < ۰.۰۰۱, F = ۱۷.۱۷). Therefore, the suggested family didactic-therapeutic package could be useful for managing symptoms of patients with SSDs (p < ۰.۰۱).