Background:Family caregivers of patients with mental disorders play the most important role in the care of psychiatric patients (PPs) and preventing their readmission. These caregivers face different challenges in different cultures. We conducted this study to determine the challenges of caregivers of patients with mental disorders in Iran.Materials and Methods:This study is a narrative review with a matrix approach conducted by searching electronic databases, SID, IRANMEDEX, MAGIRAN, PUBMED, SCOPUS, Web of Sciences, from February 2000 to 2017. Searched keywords include challenges, family caregivers of psychiatric patient, family caregivers and psychiatric patient, mental illness, families of psychiatric patient, and Iran. One thousand two hundred articles were found in English and Farsi, and considering inclusion and exclusion criteria, 39 articles were examined.Results:The results of the studies show that not meeting the needs of caregivers, burnout and high burden of care, high social stigma, low social support for caregivers, and low quality of life of caregivers were among the most important challenges faced by caregivers.Conclusions:Despite the efforts of authorities in Iran, family caregivers of patients with mental disorders still face challenges. Therefore, the need for all-inclusive support for family caregivers of patients with mental health problems is necessary.

Background:Psychological and social health of children with cancer may be severely affected by the disease and its treatment. Successive drawing by children can help them over time in terms of psychological and social adaptation. This study aimed to investigate the effects of drawing on depression in children with cancer undergoing chemotherapy.Materials and Methods:This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 7–12-year-old children with cancer undergoing chemotherapy. After completing Maria Kovacs' Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), 65 children who had obtained scores higher than 12 were chosen as study participants and were randomly divided into two experimental and control groups. The children in the experimental group were engaged in open painting sessions for 6 weeks. After the intervention, the CDI was completed again in both the groups. The obtained data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods, such as independent t-test, paired t-test, and Chi-square and Mann–Whitney tests.Results:There was a significant difference between the children's depression scores before and after the intervention in both the two groups (P < 0.001).Conclusions:The results showed that painting was effective in reducing depression in children with cancer undergoing chemotherapy. Therefore, painting can be used as an easy, cheap, and effective intervention by nurses to help children with cancer undergoing chemotherapy.

This paper explored the support needs of family caregivers of people living with a mental illness in Iran. This descriptive study focused on the experiences of 20 family caregivers as well as the views of 29 professional support workers through individual face-to-face interviews. From these interviews three key themes emerged in regards to the care needs of family caregivers: (i) social support; (ii) emotional support; and (iii) safety and security. These themes highlighted the complex role of caring for a family member with a mental illness and the emotional, social and economic challenges that these caregivers experienced as a result. Iranian caregivers garnered support not only from other family members but also from neighbors and religious leaders but lacked the much needed respite care found in western countries. This research study highlighted the importance of ensuring that the caregivers themselves receive appropriate and adequate support to fulfill their caregiving role.

Background: Attention-deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) is the most common behavioral disorder of childhood, and due to its chronic nature, it would affect all the aspects of life of the child and the caregiver. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the effect of a program based on the needs of caregivers on stress, anxiety, depression, and burden of care in families of children with ADHD. Materials and Methods: This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 70 family caregivers of children with ADHD from June to September of 2016. After convenience sampling, eligible samples were randomly allocated into two groups of control and intervention. The intervention group received the need-based educational program in eight sessions and the participants of the control group participated in two group sessions where they expressed their problems and experiences. Data were gathered through Zarit Burden Interview and Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS)-42 and then were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The mean scores of stress, anxiety, depression, and burden of care had a significant difference between both groups right after and 1 month after the intervention ( p < 0.001), whereas in the control group, there was no gradual decrease in the mean scores of the dependent variables. Conclusions: The need-based educational program might reduce the level of stress, anxiety, depression, and burden of care in families of children with ADHD. It is recommended to develop similar programs and evaluate them through various studies. The use of nonpharmacological treatment of these children is evident in the results.

Background:Patients undergoing hemodialysis are exposed to a wide range of physical, psychological, and social problems. One of the most important strategies for health promotion in patients is motivational interviewing. This study investigated the effect of motivational interviewing on the health status of patients undergoing hemodialysis.Materials and Methods:This single-blind, parallel, randomized, clinical trial was conducted on 57 patients undergoing hemodialysis who referred to hemodialysis centers of Alzahra and Amin Hospitals, Isfahan, Iran. The participants were selected through quota sampling method and were assigned to the experimental and control groups. The experimental group received five sessions of motivational interviewing, while the control group received five sessions of group discussion about their disease. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) was completed by the participants before and after the intervention. Independent t-test, paired-sample t-test, and Mann–Whitney, Chi-square, and Fisher's exact tests were used to analyze the collected data. In this study, the level of significance was 0.05.Results:Before the intervention, there was no significant difference between the mean scores of general health of the two groups (t = 0.48, p = 0.631). However, one week after the intervention, the mean score of general health in the intervention group was significantly lower than that of the control group (t = 3.12, p = 0.003).Conclusions:It can be concluded that motivational interviewing effectively improved the general health of patients undergoing hemodialysis, and using such interventions in these patients is recommended.

Background:Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic degenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS) that can reduce health promoting behaviors in patients. One method of increasing health promoting behaviors is motivational interviewing that can explore and resolve client ambivalence.Materials and Methods:The present clinical trial was carried out among 60 patients with MS. The participants were selected through convenience sampling, and then, allocated to two groups using Mini Pay software. The intervention group participated in three sessions of motivational interviewing per week (1 session every 2 days, and each session lasting 1 h). A two-part questionnaire consisting of demographic data and the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP) II questionnaire was used for data collection. The collected data were analyzed using statistical tests such as independent t-test, and Mann–Whitney and Chi-square tests.Results:No statistically significant difference was observed between the groups in terms of the demographic variables (P > 0.05). The results also showed no significant difference in the overall score of the health promoting behaviors and its dimensions between the two groups before the intervention (P > 0.05). However, 2 weeks and 1 month after the intervention, there was a significant difference between the groups in terms of the overall score and the scores of dimensions, except the spiritual growth dimension (P > 0.05).Conclusions:The findings of this study showed that motivational interviewing can improve health promoting behaviors in patients with MS. Therefore, this method can be used by nurses to improve health promoting behaviors among these patients.

The effects of chronic cardiovascular disease can challenge the achievement of treatment goals and recovery outcomes. This study explores the ways in which patients cope with the effects of chronic cardiovascular disease, from the perspectives of patients, family caregivers, and health professionals. The qualitative study was conducted from May 2019 to September 2020 in Isfahan, Iran. Thirteen people with chronic cardiovascular disease, 6 family caregivers, and 16 healthcare professionals participated in semi-structured individual interviews. Transcripts were analysed thematically. Findings suggest that people with chronic cardiovascular disease use a range of coping strategies, both positive and negative, to adjust to their conditions. The positive strategies include managing their health-related symptoms, drawing on religious or spiritual beliefs, and accessing social and relational supports. Negative strategies can include over-reliance on family members for support, leading to reduced activity and loss of independence. Understanding the nature of the strategies used by patients provides an important means by which health service providers can support patients to further develop positive coping strategies. This, in turn, will enable patients to achieve higher levels of wellbeing.

Introduction: Family caregivers of patients, candidate for coronary artery bypass graft surgery, experience high rate of anxiety about the operation, its results and the post caring process. Lack of sufficient information exacerbates the anxiety and stress rate. Here, the influence of peer-led education on anxiety rate of family caregivers of candidate patients for CABG was studied. Methods: The study was conducted at Shahid Chamran Hospital of Isfahan as a trial-clinical research. After the peer group was selected and prepared, 50 affiliated family caregivers were selected by the in-available method and assigned randomly to two control and experimental groups. The anxiety rate of family caregivers was measured using the Speielberger Questionnaire, before and after the intervention. In the experimental group, the participants were categorized in groups of six and educated in two sessions for two respective days before the operation and the educational sessions were carried out for the peer group. Results: Before the intervention, the results did not show significant differences in anxiety of family caregivers of candidate patients for chronic vascular operation between the control and experimental groups (P = 0.46). However, after the operation, the anxiety difference between the two groups was significant (P > 0.001) and the anxiety rate in the experimental group had decreased. The anxiety rate differences of family caregivers in the post-experimental group was significant relative to the pre-experimental period (P > 0.001). In general there was no significant differences in anxiety rate of the control group (P > 0.28). Conclusions: the peer-led educational program was effective in decreasing the anxiety rate among family caregivers of candidate patients of CABG. Therefore, it is suggested to have a well-trained peer group to educate the patient's family caregivers.