Family-centered collaborative care for patients with chronic mental illness: A systematic review

Chronic mental illnesses (CMI) are long lasting and reoccurring and require continuous care as well as an integrated and collaborative approach to organize the care. This study sought to examine whether family centered collaborative care is an acceptable treatment option for individuals with CMI.

From the years 2000 to 2021, ten electronic databases relating to family centered collaborative care for mental illness were searched adopting Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analysis checklist. Twenty seven relevant articles and a thesis from among 6956 studies retrieved, were assessed their quality appraisal through four standardized tools. The studies were rated as good, moderate, or poor. Studies were calibrated, different opinions were discussed, and extracted data were done.

Evidence included 11 randomized controlled trials (from 19 articles), one randomized control trial, three mixed methods studies (from 3 articles and 1 thesis), and a qualitative study (from 4 articles). The quality of seven studies was good, 15 were moderate quality, and seven were poor quality. According to moderate to high quality qualitative research, family centered collaborative care was considered an acceptable intervention; though a few studies supported it.

The findings demonstrated that family involvement in the care of patients with CMI affects no recurrence of the disease, and no re hospitalization of patients with this disorder. As a result, engaging family members in the care process can have a positive impact on the health and well being of these patients.