Effect of Telenursing on Care Burden and Resilience of Family Caregivers of Schizophrenic Patients.

Abstract

Background: Care burden is one of the consequences of caring for schizophrenic patients, caregivers need high resilience to have their best performance in caring for these patients and reduce their care burden. Psychiatric nurses should implement coherent programs to support these caregivers. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effect of telenursing on the care burden and resilience of family caregivers of schizophrenic patients.

Materials and methods: This research was a before-after quasi-experimental study with a control group. Participants included 44 family caregivers of schizophrenic patients referring to the Razi Educational and Therapeutic Psychiatric Center in Tehran in 2023-2024. Participants were included via purposive sampling method and based on inclusion criteria. Data collection tools included demographic questionnaire, standard Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). In addition to routine care, the intervention group also received telenursing care.

Results: Findings of this study showed that between intervention and control group, except for dimensions of positive acceptance of change, secure relationships (p = 0.007) and trust in one's instincts, tolerance of negative affect, and strengthening effects of stress (p = 0.02) of resilience, there were no statistically significant differences in other discussed variables such as care burden and resilience.

Conclusions: In this study, telenursing did not have a positive effect on all dimensions of resilience and care burden, but considering its potential and its positive effect on some dimensions of resilience, it is recommended that studies with longer intervention periods be conducted on other problems of family caregivers.