Effects of Psychoeducation on Depressive Symptoms among Patients Living with Chronic Illnesses

Abstract

Psychological states are perhaps among the most paramount reasons for poor treatment outcome among hospitalized patients; especially those suffering from chronic ill health condition; hence, the need for this study which investigated the effect of psychoeducation on depressive symptoms among patients living with chronic illnesses. Twenty-four (24) participants (HIV and Diabetes patients in Iyi Enu Hospital Ogidi) participated in this study; out of the 24 participants, 8 (33.3%) were males while 16 (66.7%) were females. 13 (54%) of the participants were being treated for Diabetes while 11 (45.7%) were being treated for HIV. The ages of these participants ranged from 18 years to 60 years with a mean age of (38.7) and standard deviation of (10.3); Pre-test post-test between subject design was used in the study. The 21 item Beck Depression Inventory was used for data collection while Independent T test was adopted as the statistical tools for data analysis. The result indicated that chronically ill patients who received psychoeducation showed significantly lower depressive symptoms compared to those in the control group at t (22) =-8.53, sig (.001), p<.05 levels of significant. However, patients living with HIV who received psychoeducation did not show significantly lower depressive symptoms when compared to Diabetics at t (22) =-.171. sig (.87), p>.05, levels of significant. Thus, while hypothesis one was accepted, hypothesis two was rejected. Based on the findings, the researcher recommended that mental health personnel’s and psychotherapist should use psychoeducation for the treatment of depressive symptoms associated with chronic illnesses.