Psychosocial Interventions for Families Caring for Mental Health Care Users: A Nominal Group Technique

In light of the rising global prevalence of mental illness and the need for deinstitutionalised care, families are required to provide community-based care to mental healthcare users. Family members need to be prepared and supported to undertake this role.

The aim was to develop psychosocial interventions to ease the burden of family caregivers of mental healthcare users.

Using convenience sampling, 21 stakeholders were selected. The participants had at least 2 years' experience and/or expertise in the care of family members of mental healthcare users. During a workshop, a nominal group technique was used to collect data. The six steps of Braun and Clarke guided the data analysis.

Three themes were identified, namely, interventions to provide mental health education, interventions to promote social support for families and interventions to ensure effective psychological support for families and mental healthcare users.

The nominal group technique allowed healthcare and community stakeholders to become aware of their role in supporting family caregivers of mental healthcare users. Healthcare providers need to be empowered to use basic family counselling skills.

Implementation of the developed interventions might lead to a reduction in relapse rates and relieve the caregiver burden.