Do family interventions improve health?

Area of Science:

• Health Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Family Studies

Background:

• Chronic illnesses impact not only patients but also their family members.
• Understanding the role of family in health outcomes is crucial for comprehensive care.
• Previous research indicates a need to consolidate evidence on family interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review evidence on the effectiveness of family interventions for chronic illness across the lifespan.
• To focus on recent meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials in family intervention research.
• To identify the role of nursing in family intervention research.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of recent meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials.
• Inclusion of studies examining family interventions for chronic illness in adults and children.
• Analysis of evidence for patient and family member health outcomes.

Main Results:

• For adults, family interventions significantly improve patient health, mental health, and family member health compared to usual care.
• For children, strong evidence supports family-based multimodal interventions for obesity treatment.
• Reasonable evidence supports family approaches for type 1 diabetes treatment in children.

Conclusions:

• Family interventions are effective in improving health outcomes for individuals with chronic illnesses and their families.
• Nursing involvement in research varies across different chronic illness areas.
• Further research is needed to explore and optimize family-centered care models.