Does psychoeducatioanal Approach Could Reach the Target Patients with Bipolar Disorder?

Abstract

The recurrent nature of bipolar disorder needs an optimum compliance with long term pharmacotherapy, however the poor adherence is common. Adjunctive psychoeducation seems favorable effects on adherence during the long term pharmacotherapy. Even strong benefits were showed, setting a psychoeducation in clinical practice is still novel and recruiting the patients with long history of bipolar disorder may not be feasible. In literature, recruitment rate, motivation and attitudes of patients for participation in psychoeducation is not studied. The present study was conducted to clarify the intends of patients with bipolar disorder to participate in psychoeducation and the factors that contribute.

The euthymic patients with diagnosis of bipolar disorder I or II, were invited to the 6 week psychoeducation program in prospective study. The demographic and clinical data were obtained from life charts and updated with a clinical interview. The blood levels of mood stabilizers, adherence, response to prophylactic treatment, relapses and hospitalization rates between the participants and non-participants were compared.

84 patients were attended the program, 71 patients were considered as unwilling to attend. The motivation of patients to attend a psychoeducation is limited. The participation rate was only 54.2%. The patients who refused attending to this program have fewer adherences to medication and irregular follow up visits, insufficient blood levels of mood stabilizers, poor response to long term treatment, more likely have mood episodes. Education level between attendees and non-attendees were not different.

Optimum methods are required for recruitment of bipolar patients to a psychoeducation program.