A randomized controlled implementation trial of a multicomponent integrated care program to empower mental health service users and their relatives throughout the recovery process.

This study assessed the effectiveness of a psychosocial multicomponent program designed to empower individuals experiencing severe mental distress and their relatives throughout the recovery process. The program consisted of four consecutive interventions, including orientation, psychoeducation, empowerment, and mutual help. A randomized controlled implementation trial was conducted to investigate the program's impact on the recovery of individuals experiencing mental distress, as well as on the caregiving burden and perceived social support experienced by their relatives. Two hundred twenty-two persons in recovery and one of their relatives from 12 different territories within Catalonia, Spain took part in the study. The intervention group exhibited higher recovery scores compared to the control group at 6 months, although this difference was not sustained at the 12-month follow-up. No statistically significant differences were found for burden and social support scores between experimental groups. However, time effects were found for recovery and burden scores regardless of experimental group membership. Dose-effect analyses showed that participation was related to recovery and burden scores, with no time interactions observed. Upon examining the interaction with sociodemographic variables, we discovered statistically significant group-by-time interactions, suggesting a more positive progression of recovery scores among the experimental group when either the person in recovery was younger, their relative was female, or lived outside of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area. These results allow us to conclude that the program has a positive effect on the recovery journey. However, the lack of effectiveness regarding burden and social support in relatives highlights the necessity of reconsidering implementation and evaluation strategies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Interaction between the Participation in and the Impact on Mental Health Service Users and Their Relatives of a Multicomponent Empowerment-Based Psychosocial Intervention.

Relatives play an important role in the recovery journey of mental health service users. Interventions directed either at service users or their relatives may influence the other person as well. The project 'Activa't per la salut mental' (Get active for mental health) consisted of a series of four interventions addressed at people diagnosed with mental disorders and their relatives to help them in their recovery process, increasing their agency and quality of life. The main objective of the present study is to evaluate the interaction of the participation of service users on their relatives' outcomes and vice versa. The impact of the project was evaluated within a randomised controlled trial. The treatment group had access to all the circuit interventions, while the control group received treatment as usual and could only access one of the interventions. All participants were evaluated at baseline, six months, and twelve months after the end of the first intervention. Service users were evaluated with the Stages of Recovery Instrument, and relatives with the Family Burden Interview Schedule II and the Duke-UNC-11 questionnaires. The interaction of participation and impact between service users and their relatives was analysed by means of correlational analyses within the intervention group (n = 111, service users mean age = 40.6, 40% women; relatives mean age = 56.7, 72% women). Service users' baseline characteristics (being in a relationship, educational level, employment, and younger age) influenced in the level of participation of relatives and vice versa (lower educational level). The results also indicated correlations between participation and outcomes at various points as well as the evolution of service users' recovery and the care burden of relatives. Service users' participation levels interacted with the decrease of relatives' frequency of burden and the first steps of their own recovery journey (moratorium, awareness, and preparation) while relative's participation just interacted with the evolution of two stages of service users' recovery levels (preparation and growth). These results can be extremely helpful in fostering interactive benefits in future projects addressing the wellbeing of mental health service users and their relatives. Future studies could use specific designs to explore the directionality of the causality of these effects.