A Real-World Study of the Association between a Brief Group Psychoeducation and the Course of Bipolar Disorder

Although pharmacotherapy is considered the first-line treatment for bipolar disorders (BD), adjunctive psychoeducation has proven its effectiveness in improving self-management of the disease and reducing relapse rates. Few studies have evaluated the effect of brief group psychoeducation on pragmati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental research and public health 2021-05, Vol.18 (9), p.5019
Main Authors: Casellas, Elisabet, Raventós, Beatriz, Piñeiro-Ríos, Marina, Navarro-Martínez, Helena, Castillón-Espezel, Maite, Portella, Maria J., Martín-Blanco, Ana
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activities of daily living
Bipolar disorder
Drug use
Emergency medical care
Emergency medical services
Emergency services
Hospitalization
Hospitals
Independent sample
Intervention
Medical records
Normal distribution
Patient compliance
Public health
Quality of life
Sociodemographics
Variables
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Summary:Although pharmacotherapy is considered the first-line treatment for bipolar disorders (BD), adjunctive psychoeducation has proven its effectiveness in improving self-management of the disease and reducing relapse rates. Few studies have evaluated the effect of brief group psychoeducation on pragmatic variables, such as the number of hospitalizations. The aim of the present study was to assess the mid-term effect of a four-session group psychoeducation on course-related variables in BD. Thirty-two individuals with BD were included in the study. Sixteen were exposed to psychoeducation and were matched to sixteen nonexposed individuals who received their usual treatment. Both groups were compared on insight, treatment adherence, change in the number of hospitalizations and visits to the emergency services, occurrence rate after intervention, and time to the first psychiatric hospitalization and the first urgent attendance. There was a significant reduction in the mean number of hospitalizations and urgent attendances in the exposed group in comparison to the nonexposed group. The first urgent attendance was significantly sooner in the nonexposed cohort. There were no differences between groups in any of the other variables. This intervention has shown benefits for pragmatic variables of the disease course and may be a feasible and cost-effective intervention to routinely implement in the management of BD.
ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph18095019