Group Cognitive Behavioural Family Intervention (CBFI) for People With Schizophrenia and Their Families

Effectiveness of Group Cognitive Behavioural Family Intervention (CBFI) for People With Schizophrenia and Their Families: A Mixed-method Study

Cognitive behavioural family intervention (CBFI) is a brief psychosocial intervention that incorporates the model of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) into the family context. It builds upon the current trend of family interventions/psychoeducation with refocusing on the cognitive model within the family interpersonal relationship. Existing literature indicates that CBFI may be effective in improving positive and negative symptoms of people diagnosed with schizophrenia immediately following the programme. This mixed-method is to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a CBFI programme for people with schizophrenia and their families in a local context. The findings may accumulate more evidence that CBFI is a brief and effective psychosocial intervention that is adapted to Hong Kong clinical settings.

Study Overview

• Status: Withdrawn
• Conditions: Schizophrenia; Psychosis
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Group Cognitive behavioural family intervention (CBFI); Behavioral: Usual group psychoeducation

• Study Type: Interventional
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Chak Fai Ma, MSc; Phone Number: 8392 2959 8392; Email: macf@ha.org.hk

Study Locations

• Hong Kong
  • Hong Kong, Hong Kong
    • Kwai Chung Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Service users

• Diagnosis of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, based on clinical judgement by the treating clinicians
• Aged 18-65
• Able to communicate in Cantonese

Family caregivers

• Aged above 18
• Living with service users
• Able to communicate in Cantonese
• Nominated by the service users

Exclusion Criteria:

Service users

• Having co-morbidity of learning disability
• Organic/neurological conditions
• Substance misuse disorder

Family caregivers

• Having active psychiatric conditions
• Looking after more than one family member suffering from chronic physical or mental illnesses

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Cognitive behavioural family intervention	Behavioral: Group Cognitive behavioural family intervention (CBFI); four-week, four-session CBT-based family intervention programme
Active Comparator: Usual group psychoeducation	Behavioral: Usual group psychoeducation; Treatment as usual in the institution studied

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Qualitative feedback from the clinicians of the concerned wards	Programme evaluation interview	Immediate posttreatment

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Positive symptoms of service users	Psychotic Symptoms Rating Scales (PSYRATS); 11-item hallucination subscale ranging from 0 to 44; 6-item delusion subscale ranging from 0 to 24	Immediate posttreatment
Negative symptoms of service users	Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS); 13-item ranging from 0 to 78	Immediate posttreatment
Expressed emotion by service users	Concise Chinese Level of Expressed Emotion Scale (CCLEES); 12-item ranging from 12 to 48	Immediate posttreatment
Caregiving experience by family caregivers	Chinese version of Experience of Caregiving Inventory (CECI); 66-item ranging from 0 to 264	Immediate posttreatment
Perceived care burden by family caregivers	Family Burden Interview Schedule (FBIS); 25-item ranging from 0 to 50	Immediate posttreatment
Mood disturbance by family caregivers	Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS); 7-item depression subscale ranging from 0 to 21; 7-item anxiety subscale ranging from 0 to 21	Immediate posttreatment
Qualitative feedback from the service users and their families	Semi-structured focus group interview	Immediate posttreatment

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Hospital Authority, Hong Kong
• Collaborators: The University of Hong Kong
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Chak Fai Ma, MSc, Kwai Chung Hospital, Hong Kong

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Anticipated): January 1, 2021
• Primary Completion (Anticipated): October 1, 2021
• Study Completion (Anticipated): December 1, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 17, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 21, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): August 22, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 31, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 29, 2023
• Last Verified: March 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Schizophrenia; Psychosis; CBT; Cognitive behavioural therapy; Family intervention
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders; Schizophrenia; Psychotic Disorders; Mental Disorders
• Other Study ID Numbers: CBFI

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No