Objective To investigate the impact of a peer support model on the mental health of caregivers and the perceived social support and psychiatric symptoms of the mental disorder patients under their care.
Methods Patients with mental disorders undergoing long-term community-based rehabilitation and their primary caregivers were recruited for this study. A total of 44 pairs of eligible patients and caregivers were selected based on a 1∶1 matching ratio. Systematic peer support activities were conducted exclusively for the caregivers. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90) were administered before and after the intervention to assess the mental health status of caregivers. The Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS) and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) were employed to evaluate the patients' perceived social support and psychiatric conditions before and after the intervention.
Results A total of 44 valid questionnaires from caregivers and 42 from patients were collected. The GHQ score and the total scores, the number of positive item, positive total scores, and positive mean scores of and SCL-90 of caregivers were significantly lower after the intervention compared to pre-intervention (P < 0.05 or P < 0.001). For patients, the family support score, extracurricular support score, and total score of the PSSS were significantly higher post-intervention compared to pre-intervention (P < 0.05 or P < 0.001). Compared to pre-intervention, patients'scores on anxiety and depression, lack of energy, thought disturbance, activation, hostility and suspicion, and the total score on the BPRS were significantly lower after the caregiver peer support intervention (P < 0.001).
Conclusion The peer support model contributes to improving the mental health of caregivers for patients with mental disorders and enhancing the patients'psychiatric conditions.
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