Effectiveness of Family-Focused Nurse-led Intervention on Functional Improvement of Patients with Bipolar Disorder at a Tertiary Hospital in South India: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background Bipolar affective disorder (BPAD) is a chronic, episodic illness that can create problems and disruptions in the social, occupational, and family functioning of a client. Families are frequently most affected by their bipolar member and have a sense of helplessness to fix bipolar symptoms. The current study aimed to assess the effectiveness of Family-focused Nursing Interventions (FFNI) on functional improvement in the sample of symptomatic bipolar affective disorder clients. Method In this experimental study, 149 patients with BPAD were interviewed along with family members through the consecutive sampling technique from the inpatient ward. Varying block randomization was used to allocate the patients to the control and experimental groups. After obtaining ethical clearance, the study was registered under the Clinical trail registry India (CTRI). Baseline sociodemographic and clinical variables, and the functional levels, were assessed using Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation-Range of Impaired Functioning Tool and Functional Assessment Short Test. The control group (74) received routine treatment; the experimental group (75) received routine treatment along with FFNI in seven sessions, and posttest was conducted at discharge, one-month, and at two-month follow-up at OPD. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 20 (IBM Corp. Released 2011. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows Version 20.0, Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.), independent sample t-test, analysis of variance, and Pearson correlation used. A P-value of less than 0.05 was considered as a statistically significant result. Results At the end of the study, 149 clients completed the treatment and follow-up. Both the groups were comparable at baseline in demography as well as clinical variables. There was significant improvement in the functional level after FFNI. The total score of LIFE-RIFT and the Functional Assessment Short Test score were significantly lower in the experimental group than the control group with P = 0.001. Conclusion The current study concluded that adjuvant to routine treatment FFNI will improve the functional ability of the client along with routine psychiatric treatment for BPAD.

Research on clinical aspects of bipolar disorder: A review of Indian studies

“…It was concluded in this study that adjuvant to routine treatment, FFNI improved the functional ability of the patients significantly when compared with the control group along with the routine psychiatric treatment for bipolar disorder. [ 66 ]…”

Psychological Intervention for Bipolar Disorder in Iran: A Systematic Review

“…Bipolar disorder is a chronic disorder including repeated episodes of (hypo) mania and depression, a high relapse rate, and significant comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders [1,2]. The mood swings of bipolar disorder are so intense that they can cause severe disruptions in social, occupational, and interpersonal functioning.…”