The effectiveness of therapeutic conversation intervention for caregivers of adolescents with ADHD: a quasi-experimental design.

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Caregivers of adolescents with ADHD experience major difficulties as care providers and are in need of guidance and support. Adolescents with ADHD may develop oppositional and criminal behaviour. More than 50 % have the symptoms in adulthood, and up to one-fourth with severe emotional or antisocial difficulties. There is a lack of evidence of caregivers' supporting intervention although caregiver groups have been found to contribute to better coping, decreased stress and improvements in ADHD symptoms. WHAT DOES THIS PAPER ADD TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: Primary caregivers of adolescents with ADHD experienced better quality of life after the Therapeutic Conversation Intervention. The intervention contributed to better social functioning among secondary caregivers. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: The content of the Therapeutic Conversation Intervention is significant and highlights the utility of a combination of group and private sessions for caregivers of people with ADHD. The intervention can influence how services for families are organized, such that a Therapeutic Conversation Intervention could be offered on a regular basis. ABSTRACT: Introduction Caregivers of adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder are burdened with tasks and many suffer from distress. Adolescents with ADHD may develop antisocial behaviour and caregiver's group can empower caregiver's supporting role. Aim/Question To evaluate the effectiveness of a Therapeutic Conversation Intervention on caregivers of adolescents with ADHD regarding strengthening the supportive role. Method The study utilized a quasi-experimental design. The participants (n = 60) were caregivers of adolescents (13-17 years old) with ADHD. The intervention consisted in-group and parent sessions. The Calgary Family Model and the Family Illness Beliefs Model were used as theoretical frameworks. Results The study revealed significant differences in the improvement of quality of life; regarding primary caregiver (PC) worry, daily activities, family relationships and collaboration post-intervention, as well emotional functioning at both post-intervention and follow-up. Secondary caregiver (SC) social functioning was significantly improved at follow-up. Discussion The intervention proved to be beneficial to the caregivers and is filling a gap in much needed intervention. Implication for practice The results will expand health care professionals' knowledge of how to increase PC quality of life when supporting their adolescent with ADHD. This treatment information should improve service at health care centres/hospitals where adolescents with ADHD receive care.

Nurses attitudes towards the importance of families in psychiatric care following an educational and training intervention program.

This study measures the attitudes of the psychiatric nurses, after having received an education and training intervention program (ETI-PROGRAM) in family systems nursing, towards the importance of the families in their care. Nurses' knowledge of the impact that family nursing intervention can have on family members may increase positive attitudes towards families. However, little is known about the impact that education and training intervention can have on nurses' attitudes, towards families in clinical practice. Quasi-experimental design was used to assess the change in nurses' attitudes towards families in psychiatric care after the intervention, which included a one-day seminar on the Calgary family nursing conceptual frameworks and skills training with clinical vignettes of families from psychiatry. The Families Importance in Nursing Care - Nurses' Attitude questionnaire was used to evaluate nurses' attitudes. A total of 81 nurses (65%) working in psychiatric care responded to the questionnaire. Nurses with more than 15 years of work experience were significantly more supportive of families in their care compared with less experienced nurses. Out of the 81 nurses, 52 (64%) answered the questionnaire again 14 months later. Furthermore, psychiatric nurses saw families significantly less burdensome after having participated in the ETI-PROGRAM.

Educational and support intervention to help families assist in the recovery of relatives with eating disorders.

The aim of this study was to develop and test an educational and support nursing intervention in Iceland to help families assist with the recovery of relatives with eating disorders. Studies indicate that if families receive adequate help in the recovery process of a relative with an eating disorder, the prognosis is better. The study is a pre-post design. The intervention was based on the Calgary Family Intervention Model. An educational and support intervention, which lasted for 3 weeks, was provided for 21 family members of individuals with eating disorders. The patients had been diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa or an eating disorder not otherwise specified. Participants were divided into three groups. The main findings revealed a significant improvement according to the scales used for measuring understanding in the level of expressed emotion questionnaire and for measuring eating behaviour, concern with weight and food, and denial of the problem in the anorectic behaviour observation scale. The participants' responses to the research questions about their satisfaction with the educational and support intervention were positive. The study indicates that an educational and support intervention can prove beneficial for families and patients with eating disorders.

Well-being of parents of young children with asthma.

The relationships of family demands, caregiving demands, sense of coherence (SOC), and family hardiness (FH) with parents' well-being was evaluated in 76 families (75 mothers and 62 fathers) of young children (infant to 6 years) with asthma. The Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment and Adaptation (McCubbin, M., & McCubbin, 1993, 1996) was the conceptual framework for the study. The major hypothesis was that SOC and FH, separately and in combination, moderate both family system and caregiving demands on general well-being. With hierarchical regression analysis, SOC and FH explained 56% of the variance in mothers' well-being; family demands, SOC, and FH explained 67% of the variance in fathers' well-being. No moderating relationships were found for SOC or FH. Resiliency factors (SOC and FH) and family demands had direct relationships to the well-being of parents of young children with asthma.

Parenthood transition for parents of an infant diagnosed with a congenital heart condition.

This purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between caregiving demands, family system demands, and parental coping behavior in 71 families who had an infant 1 year of age or younger diagnosed with a congenital heart defect. Data for this descriptive correlational study were collected in the parents' homes. Mothers spent the most caregiving time attending to their infants' physical needs, and fathers spent the most time attending to infants' emotional and developmental needs. Fathers of younger infants reported higher infant caregiving demands and more helpful coping strategies related to the family, self, and the health care situation. Unexpectedly, no significant relationships were found between family system demands, infant caregiving demands, and mothers' coping strategies. Parents of later-born infants with a congenital heart defect experienced higher levels of family system demands than did first-time parents.