Effect of a multichannel psychoeducation program on caregiving burden among caregivers of persons with schizophrenia: Randomized controlled trial.

Background: Long-term caregiving for individuals with schizophrenia, who typically present with cognitive deficits and reduced emotional expression, can result in significant caregiver burden when adaptation to caregiving roles proves challenging. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a novel multichannel psychoeducation program in reducing caregiving burden among caregivers of individuals with schizophrenia. Design: A randomized controlled trial study employing a pretest-posttest design with intervention and control groups. Setting: Psychiatric outpatient department of Thammasat University Hospital in Pathum Thani, Thailand. Participants: Initially, 50 caregivers of individuals with schizophrenia with mild to moderate caregiving burden (scores ≥11) without comorbidities were recruited. Five participants withdrew due to inconvenience and loss of contact, resulting in 45 completers (23 intervention, 22 control). Methods: Participants were purposively selected based on inclusion criteria and matched in pairs according to caregiving burden scores, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale scores of care recipients, age, and gender before random allocation. The intervention consisted of a seven-session multichannel psychoeducation program delivered over 3-4 weeks: one initial 60-minute face-to-face session followed by six 40-minute video conference sessions via the Line application. The control group received only usual care. Caregiving burden was assessed at baseline and one month post-intervention. Results: The intervention group demonstrated significantly reduced caregiving burden scores from pre-test to post-test (t=10.278, p<0.001). Moreover, between-group comparison revealed significantly lower caregiving burden in the intervention group compared to the control group one month post-intervention (t=3.711, p=0.001). While both groups showed some reduction in burden, the intervention group achieved low burden levels, whereas the control group remained in the moderate range. Conclusions: This innovative multichannel psychoeducation program shows promise in reducing caregiving burden among caregivers of people with schizophrenia. The integration of both face-to-face and digital delivery methods enhanced accessibility and appeared to support caregiver outcomes. While these findings are encouraging, the study design limits the strength of causal inferences. Further studies with more rigorous methodologies are recommended to confirm effectiveness and guide integration of this approach into standard care for caregivers in Thailand.