The effectiveness of a group psycho-educational program on family caregiver burden of patients with mental disorders

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Brief family intervention may have a positive impact on family caregivers for patients with mental disorders. We assessed the effectiveness of a group psycho-educational program on family caregivers for patients with schizophrenia and mood disorders.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This randomized controlled trial was performed on 100 caregivers for patients with mental disorders attending the Isfahan Behavioral Sciences Research Center (IBSRC), in Isfahan, Iran. One hundred family caregivers of patients with schizophrenia (n = 50) and mood disorders (n = 50) were selected and assigned randomly to either a psycho-educational group intervention or routine care in each diagnosis category. The caregivers were followed for 3 months. Caregiver burden was assessed using the Zarit Burden Interview</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean scores of the Zarit caregiver burden decreased significantly for the group that participated in the psycho-educational program, while scores in the control group did not change significantly.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This group intervention program was effective to reduce the caregiver burden for both categories of mental disorders in the Iranian population. This group intervention program may improve the quality of life of patients and caregivers by improving the standards of care giving.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>RCT registration number: IRCT138804272200N</p

Impacts of climate change on indirect human exposure to pathogens and chemicals from agriculture

Climate change is likely to affect the nature of pathogens/ chemicals in the environment and their fate and transport. We assess the implications of climate change for changes in human exposures to pathogens/chemicals in agricultural systems in the UK and discuss the effects on health impacts, using expert input and literature on climate change; health effects from exposure to pathogens/chemicals arising from agriculture; inputs of chemicals/pathogens to agricultural systems; and human exposure pathways for pathogens/chemicals in agricultural systems. We established the evidence base for health effects of chemicals/pathogens in the agricultural environment; determined the potential implications of climate change on chemical/pathogen inputs in agricultural systems; and explored the effects of climate change on environmental transport and fate of various contaminants. We merged data to assess the implications of climate change in terms of indirect human exposure to pathogens/chemicals in agricultural systems, and defined recommendations on future research and policy changes to manage adverse increases in risks