Empowerment Program on Empowerment Perception and Caring Activities in Caregiver of Psychiatric patients

Abstract

This study was quasi-experimental research employing a two-group pretest-posttest design with a one-month follow-up. The objective was to examine the effects of an empowerment enhancement program on perceived empowerment and care giving practices among caregivers of psychiatric patients. The sample consisted of 44 caregivers of psychiatric patients, selected through purposive sampling based on specific inclusion criteria. The intervention tools included an empowerment enhancement program composed of two parts: (1) an empowerment enhancement plan for caregivers of psychiatric patients and (2) a caregiver home care manual. Data collection instruments included a perceived empowerment interview form and a psychiatric patient care practices interview form, both of which were validated for content validity and tested for reliability. The instruments demonstrated a high level of internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient of 0.9. The results revealed that caregivers in the experimental group had significantly higher mean scores of perceived empowerments immediately after the intervention (95.20%) and at the one-month follow-up (96.00%) compared to those in the control group (70.20%) and to their own pre-intervention scores, with statistical significance at the .05 level. Moreover, there was no significant difference between the mean perceived empowerment scores after the intervention and at the follow-up within the experimental group. Additionally, the caregivers in the experimental group showed significantly higher mean scores in care giving practices than those in the control group and compared to their own pre-intervention scores, with statistical significance at the .05 level. There was no significant difference in care giving practice scores Pre-Experimental, Post-experimental and follow-up in the experimental group.