Telephone-delivered, interpersonal psychotherapy for HIV-infected rural persons with depression: a pilot trial. A randomized clinical trial study on the effectiveness of a tele-analogy-based problem-solving programme for people with acquired brain injury (ABI). Randomized trial of coordinated psychosocial interventions based on patient self-assessments versus standard care to improve the psychosocial functioning of patients with cancer. One-year follow-up of a multiple-family-group intervention for Chinese families of patients with schizophrenia. Computer-assisted instruction: an effective instructional method for HIV prevention education? [Differential efficacy of two psychoeducational interventions for dementia family caregivers]. Effects of psychoeducation for Korean Americans with chronic mental illness. Effects of computer-assisted instruction on selected interaction skills related to responsible sexuality. Patient and relative education in community psychiatry: a randomized controlled trial regarding its effectiveness.
Rural areas account for approximately 6% of AIDS cases in the United States. Many HIV-infected persons in rural areas live with elevated levels of psychiatric distress, suicidal ideation, and loneliness. This pilot study tested whether brief interpersonal psychotherapy delivered via telephone could reduce psychiatric distress among persons living with HIV-AIDS in rural areas in the United States.
                Seventy-nine participants were assigned randomly to a usual care control condition or to a six-session, telephone-delivered, interpersonal psychotherapy intervention (hereafter referred to as the teletherapy group); participants in the teletherapy group continued to receive standard services available to them in the community. Participants completed self-administered surveys pre- and postintervention that assessed depressive and psychiatric symptoms, perceptions of loneliness, and social support.
                Participants in the teletherapy group evidenced greater reductions in depressive symptoms and in overall levels of psychiatric distress, compared with those in the control group. Nearly one-third of teletherapy participants reported clinically meaningful reductions in psychiatric distress from pre- to postintervention.
                The telephone-delivered interpersonal therapy intervention showed potential to reduce depressive and psychiatric symptoms among HIV-infected persons in rural areas. On the basis of these encouraging findings, additional research examining this intervention with this clinical population is warranted. The present study reports the results of 103 persons with acquired brain injury who were randomly assigned to one of three 20-session analogy problem-solving skill training groups, namely: online training (through computer video conferencing with interactive software); computer-assisted training (through interactive patient-directed software); therapist administered training (face-to-face therapist guided training activities); and a "no-treatment" control group.
                Pre- and post-test quasi-experimental design.
                Individuals' problem-solving skills and self-efficacy in all four groups were assessed over a four-week period. Overall, the training methods were found to be effective in improving problem solving skills regardless of the modes of delivery (except in the case of the control group). The continuous "human touch" characteristics of the therapist-administered group showed significant better improvements in self-efficacy in problem-solving.
                The statistically significantly improvement in problem solving skills in the online-group suggests that this approach could effectively improve cognitive functions of person with ABI and yield training outcomes comparable to other modes of delivery such as the face-to-face training. The conceptualization and applicability of tele-cognitive rehabilitation, its implications for persons with ABI, and future studies in this research area are also discussed. To determine whether making patient-reported cancer needs, quality-of-life (QOL), and psychosocial information available to the health care team, allowing coordinated specifically targeted psychosocial interventions, resulted in reduced cancer needs, improved QOL, and increased satisfaction with care received.
                Self-reported cancer needs, QOL, and psychosocial information was collected from 450 people with cancer, using standardized questionnaires via a touch-screen computer. For a randomly chosen two thirds, this information was made available to the health care team who coordinated targeted psychosocial interventions. Information from the remaining one third was not seen. Patients were assessed 2 and 6 months after randomization for changes in their cancer needs, QOL, and psychosocial functioning and satisfaction with overall care received.
                There were no significant differences between the two arms with respect to changes in cancer needs, QOL, or psychosocial functioning between the baseline and follow-up assessments, nor with respect to satisfaction with care. However, for the subgroup of patients who were moderately or severely depressed at baseline, there was a significant reduction in depression for the intervention arm relative to the control arm at the 6-month assessment (P =.001).
                Making patient-reported cancer needs, QOL, and psychosocial data available to the health care team at a single consultation together with coordinated psychosocial interventions does not seem to reduce cancer needs nor improve QOL, psychosocial functioning, or satisfaction with the care received. However, identification of patients with moderate or severe levels of depression may be valuable in reducing subsequent levels of depression. This study tested the effectiveness of a mutual support multiple-family-group intervention for schizophrenia in terms of improvements in patients' psychosocial functioning, use of mental health services, and rehospitalization compared with a psychoeducation intervention and standard care.
                A controlled trial was conducted in a sample of 96 Chinese families who were caring for a relative with schizophrenia in Hong Kong. The families were randomly assigned to one of three groups: mutual support (N=32), psychoeducation (N=33), and standard care (N=31). The interventions were delivered at two psychiatric outpatient clinics over a six-month period. The mutual support and psychoeducation interventions consisted of 12 group sessions every two weeks, each lasting about two hours. The mutual support group was a peer-led group designed to provide information, emotional support, and coping skills for caregiving in stages. The psychoeducation group was a professional-led group designed to educate families about the biological basis of schizophrenia and treatment and to improve illness management and coping skills. The standard care group and the other two groups received routine psychiatric outpatient care during the intervention. Data analyses of multiple outcomes over one-year follow-up were conducted on an intention-to-treat basis.
                Multivariate analyses of variance showed that the mutual support intervention was associated with consistently greater improvements in patients' functioning and rehospitalization and stable use of mental health services over the follow-up period compared with the other two interventions.
                The study provides evidence that mutual support groups can be an effective family intervention for Chinese persons with mental illness in terms of improving patients' functioning and hospitalization without increasing their use of mental health services. To compare the effectiveness of a computer-assisted instruction (CAI)-based intervention to a more traditional lecture-based intervention for influencing psychosocial correlates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) preventive behaviors.
                Students enrolled in a Human Sexuality course (N = 152) were randomly assigned to one of three groups: CAI, Lecture, or No Intervention group. Participants in the CAI group reviewed a 1-hour long CAI program, participants in the Lecture group were presented with a 1-hour long lecture, and participants in the No Intervention group received no intervention. After completing the respective interventions, all participants completed the HIV questionnaire, which measured selected Social Cognitive Theory constructs associated with HIV preventive behaviors. MANCOVA, ANCOVA and Post Hoc analyses were utilized to test for significant differences among the three groups.
                The analyses disclosed that, compared to participants in the Lecture group, participants in the CAI group scored significantly higher on the scales measuring autoimmune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) knowledge, self-evaluative outcome motivation, and intention to practice HIV preventive behaviors with current partner. In addition, compared to the No Intervention group, the CAI group scored significantly higher on the scales measuring physical outcome motivation and social outcome motivation.
                CAI-based programs can be effective for delivering instruction on HIV prevention. However, because of certain limitations, this type of program is best utilized as part of a more comprehensive intervention that uses several different delivery systems. The aim of this work is to compare the effectiveness of two psychoeducational interventions for dementia caregivers: a cognitive behavioral one (PCC), aimed at the modification of dysfunctional thoughts about caregiving, and another one consisting in problem solving skills training (PSP) for caregivers, with the aim of modifying the behavioral problems of their relative.
                Seventy five caregivers were asked to participate in an intervention program, of whom 31 finally completed the study. Both group interventions are compared with a control group (CG). The caregiver groups were randomly assigned to each experimental condition. Pre, post intervention, and follow up assessments of the following variables have been made: depression, perceived stress, frequency of behavioral problems, perceived stress associated with the behavioral problems and dysfunctional thoughts about caregiving.
                Following the intervention, caregivers in the PCC program show significantly less perceived stress than the other two groups. In the same direction, a trend exists to a significant reduction of the stress associated with the behavioral problems. In the follow up assessment, caregivers of the PCC program significantly report less relative's behavioral problems than the other two groups. Caregivers of the PCC program have less dysfunctional thoughts than the other two groups, differences almost reaching significance.
                Benefits of a psychoeducational intervention vary as a function of the contents it includes. The importance of intervening on the caregiver dysfunctional thoughts for an adequate coping with caregiving is highlighted. Korean Americans' access to mental health services may be limited because of differences in their views of mental illness compared with Westerners, unfamiliarity with treatment methods, and cultural associations of social stigma with mental problems. This study used data from an urban outpatient clinic to assess the effects of a ten-week psychoeducational intervention for Korean Americans with chronic mental illness.
                Forty-eight Korean-American adults with a diagnosis of schizophrenia were randomly assigned to either an experimental group that provided a culturally sensitive psychoeducational group program in addition to individual supportive therapy or a control group that offered only individual supportive therapy. The two groups were compared on pre- and posttreatment measures of psychiatric symptoms, attitudes about and understanding of mental illness, and coping skills. The experimental psychoeducational treatment group was expected to show lower symptom severity, greater understanding of mental illness leading to a decreased perception of stigma, and greater coping skills after the intervention than the control group. Comparisons were made with repeated-measures analysis of covariance with the effects of gender and education controlled for.
                Compared with the control group, the psychoeducational group showed significantly reduced symptom severity and perception of stigma and greater coping skills immediately after treatment.
                These findings suggest that a culturally sensitive psychoeducational intervention is a useful short-term treatment modality for Korean Americans with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. This study examined effects of computer-assisted instruction on decision-making, assertiveness, and interpersonal communication related to responsible sexuality. Health science classes from four secondary schools in three midwestern states participated in the quasi-experimental study. The Experimental Group (n = 151) received simulation-based CAI, while Control Group #1 (n = 147) received regular classroom instruction, and Control Group #2 (n = 93) received no intervention. A 46-item questionnaire was administered to determine changes in the dependent variables. Findings indicated CAI, but not RCI, effectively improved decision-making knowledge and behavior, assertiveness knowledge and behavior, and interpersonal communication knowledge, attitude, and behavior. However, CAI did not improve assertiveness attitude. Over a five-week period, the effectiveness of CAI decayed for the knowledge variables. The effectiveness of CAI varied according to subject's gender, grade, and school-community setting. Results suggest simulation-based CAI provides an instructional approach that promotes positive change in some interaction skills related to responsible sexuality without many of the risks inherent in regular classroom instruction involving such sensitive topics. Family psychoeducation has a well-documented effect on the short-term prognosis in schizophrenia. Less is known about the effectiveness of shorter programmes with the main focus on information for patients (patient education) or for patients and relatives (family education).
                A randomized study of the effectiveness of an eight-session psychoeducational programme for patients with schizophrenia and for their relatives was conducted in two community mental health centres, in Arhus and Viborg (Denmark). Patient outcome measures were knowledge, relapse, compliance, insight and satisfaction, and relative outcome measures were knowledge and satisfaction. Post-intervention outcome and follow-up evaluation 1 year after the start of the intervention are presented.
                A statistically significant increase in knowledge of schizophrenia in both relatives and patients was demonstrated at postintervention and a non-significant trend at 1-year follow-up. Statistically significant changes in the Verona Service Satisfaction Scale Scores in the subdimension of satisfaction with Relatives involvement were demonstrated both for patients and relatives postintervention and for patients at 1-year follow-up. There was a tendency that time-to-relapse increased in the intervention group at postintervention and that the schizophrenia subscore of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale was reduced in the intervention group at 1-year follow-up. No differences were found between the groups regarding compliance, insight into psychosis, psychosocial function (General Assessment of Function) or in relatives' expressed emotion scores postintervention or at 1-year follow-up.
                A short patient and relative education programme seems to be able to influence knowledge and some aspects of satisfaction, but does not seem to be sufficient to influence important variables such as relapse, compliance, psychopathology, insight or psychosocial functioning.
Using ICT to deliver psychoeducational interventions has no clear effects compared with standard care, other methods of delivering psychoeducation and support, or both. Researchers used a variety of methods of delivery and outcomes, and studies were few and underpowered. ICT remains a promising method of delivering psychoeducation; the equivocal findings of this review should not postpone high-quality research in this area.