ArticleBMC psychology2025
Experiences of participation in an education and support group for carers of people with longer-term psychosis: a qualitative study.
Article in BMC psychology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIt is well-established that carers of people with psychosis require support given the stress, social isolation and health problems commonly associated with their caring role. However, interventions for carers are under-researched and underprovided. Psychoeducation and support groups can improve carers' experiences of caregiving, but there is insufficient evidence to inform an optimal intervention. Furthermore, the limited existing literature tends to focus on carer groups provided within early intervention services. We designed and implemented an education and support group programme for carers of people with longer term psychosis. The group ran twice, online in 2021 and face-to-face in 2023. We conducted a qualitative service evaluation to explore participants' experiences of participation in the group and inform its further refinement.
methodsWe conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews before and after each group programme which explored carers' experiences of caring and of group participation, in order to understand its impact, potential mechanisms of effect, and any helpful or challenging aspects. Facilitators also provided written reflective notes. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.
resultsSeventeen carers and four facilitators participated. The group programme received highly positive feedback. Four main themes were identified regarding its impact on the experience of caring: 1) isolated versus connected and supported; 2) disempowered versus empowered; 3) grief, guilt, worry versus acceptance; 4) unmet needs: the challenges associated with participants' caring roles which were not addressed by group participation. The group's mechanisms of effect included: building connections between carers, building carers' connections with services, and providing psychoeducation that improved carers' confidence and increased their empathy for their relative. Key components of the group's design were: attendees having similar experiences of caring attendees receiving clear information about the group's purpose and format, and facilitation by senior mental professionals who enabled discussion. The main area for improvement was to increase accessibility to carers from minority groups.
conclusionsThis study explored participants' experiences of a psychoeducation and support group for carers of people with longer-term psychosis and showed that it was largely acceptable and received positively by participants. The results may explain why recent trials of carer focussed interventions that have relied on digital contact were not effective. Further research is needed, including clinical trials, to investigate the clinical and cost effectiveness of face-to-face carer groups.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.