Family Interventions and Relapse Prevention in Schizophrenia
Rodolico A, Bighelli I, Avanzato C, et al. · The Lancet Psychiatry
A systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized trials testing family interventions to prevent relapse in schizophrenia.
- A review of 90 randomized trials (10,340 people with schizophrenia) found that most family intervention models reduced relapse at 12 months compared with usual care.
- Family psychoeducation alone performed as well as or better than more complex family programs.
- Very brief programs (two sessions or fewer) and crisis-only family interventions did not clearly reduce relapse.
Why it matters
For schizophrenia, involving families in structured education is one of the better-supported ways to reduce relapse. Evidence for other diagnoses is more limited, but it is still reasonable to ask a program how it involves families.
Limitations
Schizophrenia only; confidence in the estimates ranged from moderate to very low depending on the comparison.
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