Effect of Family and Patient Centered Empowerment Program on Depression, Anxiety and Stress in Patients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Their Caregivers’ Burden

Considering the importance of family participation in patients’ treatment and the positive effects of simultaneous patient and family education, this study was conducted to determine the effect of a family and patient‑oriented empowerment program on depression, anxiety, and stress in patients with Obsessive‑Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and their caregivers’ burden.

This quasi‑experimental study was conducted on 50 OCD patients along with their primary caregivers. The intervention group participated in eight sessions of training, each lasting from 60 to 90 min (twice a week), and the control group received the usual treatment. The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, Maudsley’s Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory, Goldberg’s General Health Questionnaire, and Zarit’s Burden Inventory were used to collect the data before, immediately after and 1 month after the intervention, and then the gathered data were analyzed with t-test and analysis of variance using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software, version 21.

The changes in the mean scores of depression (F2,48 = 21.02, p < 0.001), anxiety (F2,48 = 29.72, p < 0.001), and stress (F2,48 = 16.52, p < 0.001) of the patients in the intervention group showed significant decrease over time; however, in the control group, there was no significant decrease in the mean scores of depression (F2,48 = 1.69, p = 0.19), anxiety (F2,48 = 0.47, p = 0.62), and stress (F2,48 = 1.09, p = 0.34) over time. The changes in the caregiver’s burden score in both groups indicated a significant decrease over time in the intervention group (F2,48 = 24.70, p < 0.001) and the control group (F2,48 = 33. 30, p < 0.001).

The findings of this study revealed that concurrently training the patients and caregivers could reduce the negative emotions of the patients and their caregivers’ burden.