Journal of Education and Health Promotion

Abstract BACKGROUND: Patients with a vegetative state (VS) are completely dependent on caregivers in
all physical aspects of their lives. Caring for such patients comes with a great deal of difficulty for
family caregivers. As a result, family caregivers must be fully trained and prepared for this role. The
present qualitative study was conducted to investigate the educational challenges faced by family
caregivers of VS patients for home care preparedness.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present qualitative study was conducted through the conventional
content analysis method from August 2020 to September 2021 in two provinces of Iran (Sistan and
Baluchestan Province; and Razavi Khorasan Province). Fourteen family caregivers of patients in a VS
were included in the study. Semi‑structured and in‑depth interviews were employed to collect data.
The Graneheim and Lundman method was utilized to conduct the data analysis using MAXQDA2020
software. Data collection continued until data saturation and the identification of main categories.
RESULTS: As indicated by the data analysis, three categories of “unmet educational needs,”
“confused caregiver,” and “searching for practical knowledge” which included 19 sub‑categories
described the experiences of family caregivers of patients in a VS concerning challenges they went
through in preparation for patient care at home. Participants’ experiences revealed that despite the
inadequacy of educations provided by health‑care providers on knowledge and skills required by
family caregivers, they were committed to caring for the patient and trying to acquire the required
knowledge.
CONCLUSION: Results indicated that inadequate education and the lack of family caregivers’
contribution to caring for the patient in the VS during their stay in the hospital impedes their acquisition
of adequate knowledge and skill to care for patients at home. Therefore, healthcare system
policymakers should be planning to eliminate the educational barriers faced by family caregivers
and expand the educational activities of hospitals’ homecare centers to provide educational support
of family caregivers after the patient’s discharge.

Abstract INTRODUCTION: Chronic diseases leave a huge impact on the life of children and their family
caregivers (FCGs). Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the effect of the
combination of Benson’s relaxation technique (BRT) and brief psycho‑educational intervention (BPI) on
religious coping (RCOPE), sense of coherence (SOC), and quality of life (QoL) of FCGs in children
with chronic disease.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study population, consisted of 100 FCGs whose children were
afflicted by chronic diseases, and participated in the current quasi‑experimental pretest posttest
design. The children were recruited from two state pediatric hospitals in Tehran, Iran. The RCOPE,
SOC, and QoL of FCGs were assessed twice, through pretest (T1) and posttest (T2), four weeks
after the intervention, by means of RCOPE, SOC and SF‑36 questionnaires. The FCGs participated
in four training sessions lasting up to 70 min over one week, followed by four more weeks of training.
The Chi‑square, Fisher’s exact tests, independent t‑test, and paired t‑test were performed.
RESULTS: Positive RCOPE had a significant rise at T2 (P = 0.020) compared with negative RCOPE
that did not show significant changes in T2. SOC scores for the intervention group remarkably rose
at T2 (P = 0.022); but, for the control group, the drop was marginal. The QoL scores of both physical
and mental components were statistically significant in the intervention group at T2 (P < 0.05).
CONCLUSION: Findings of the present study suggest that BRT and BPI can help significantly improve
the RCOPE, SOC, and QoL of families with children suffering from chronic diseases. Measures that
could enhance the RCOPE, SOC, and QoL include low‑cost interventions, good safety, and decent
outcome.

Abstract INTRODUCTION: After the psychiatric revolution and implementation of deinstitutionalization policies,
caring for people with a mental health condition shifted from psychiatric hospitals to their families. In
this way, family caregivers were forced to take full responsibility for taking care of the patients that
lead to the occurrence of challenges for them. Only a few studies have investigated the caregiving
challenges of family caregivers in patients with schizophrenia.
AIM: This study aimed to gain a better understanding of caregiving burden in family caregivers of
patients with schizophrenia and its related factors.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This qualitative study was performed based on 12 family caregivers
of schizophrenia patients visiting a psychiatric hospital in Tehran in 2018. Sampling was carried out
based on the purposive sampling method and was continued until data saturation. All interviews were
recorded, transcript, and imported into the MAXQDA software. Then, qualitative content analysis
was conducted based on Graneheim and Lundman’s five‑step method.
RESULTS: One theme, two main categories, and five subcategories were identified from the
continuous analysis and data comparison. The “Perceived objective burden” as theme included
two main categories: “Heavy involvement of caregivers” and “Challenges of the healthcare system”.
CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that the family caregivers of the patients with
schizophrenia encounter many problems related to multiple responsibilities in the caring process and
challenges in the provision of mental health‑care services. This finding could improve psychiatric and
mental health nurses’ knowledge and awareness about caregiving challenges in family caregiver of
patients with schizophrenia and related factors.

Abstract Background: Heart failure is incurable disease and patients often have an ongoing decline once
diagnosed. The symptoms of heart failure may impair the ability of patient to perform activities of
daily living. As heart failure progresses, patients normally increase their reliance on family caregivers.
Aims: This paper explored the informational needs and related problems of family caregivers of heart
failure patients as a part of the findings of a study exploring experiences of family caregivers in the
caregiving situation. Setting and Design: Using a qualitative design, 19 family caregivers from three
educational hospitals in Isfahan, Iran, were recruited. Materials and Methods: Participants were
selected by purposive sampling. Data were collected through semi‑structured interviews. Interviews
were transcribed verbatim and analyzed concurrently. Results: Four major themes were emerged
from the analysis of the transcripts: “Lack of care‑related knowledge”, “Inaccessibility to responsible
source of information”, “Lack of guidance from healthcare team” and “caring with ambiguity due to
unpredictable nature of the disease”. Caregivers believed that they did not have the basic knowledge
related to disease and medication administration. They received little guidance and support from
the health care team on the caregiving roles. They experienced high level of ambiguity and stress
in caregiving tasks due to lack of care‑related knowledge and unpredictable nature of disease.
Conclusion: The care, which was performed by the caregivers of HF patients, is beyond of their
knowledge, capabilities, and resources. Nurses and other healthcare providers can use the findings
of this study to develop effective educational and supportive programs to facilitate these needs.