The effect of family interventions on relapse and rehospitalization in schizophrenia - A meta-analysis

Twenty-five intervention studies were meta-analytically examined regarding the effect of including relatives in schizophrenia treatment. The studies i nvestigated family intervention programs to educate relatives and help them cope better with the patient's illness. The patient's relapse rate, measur ed by either a significant worsening of symptoms or rehospitalization in th e first years after hospitalization, served as the main study criterion. Th e main result of the meta-analysis was that the relapse rate can be reduced by 20 percent if relatives of schizophrenia patients are included in the t reatment. If family interventions continued for longer than 3 months, the e ffect was particularly marked. Furthermore, different types of comprehensiv e family interventions have similar results. The bifocal approach, which of fers psychosocial support to relatives and schizophrenia patients in additi on to medical treatment, was clearly superior to the medication-only standa rd treatment. The effects of family interventions and comprehensive patient interventions were comparable, but the combination did not yield significa ntly better results than did a treatment approach, which focused on either the patient or the family. This meta-analysis indicates that psychoeducatio nal interventions are essential to schizophrenia treatment.