Changes in Families’ Caregiving Experiences through Involvement as Participants then Facilitators in a Family Peer‐Education Program for Mental Disorders in Japan

• Author: Masako Kageyama,Keiko Yokoyama,Yukako Nakamura,Sayaka Kobayashi
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12194
• Date: 01 June 2017
• Published date: 01 June 2017

Changes in Families’ Caregiving Experiences

through Involvement as Participants then Facilitators

in a Family Peer-Education Program for Mental

Disorders in Japan

MASAKO KAGEYAMA*

KEIKO YOKOYAMA

†

YUKAKO NAKAMURA

‡

SAYAKA KOBAYASHI

§

A family peer-education program for mental disorders was developed in Japan, similar

to existing programs in the United States and Hong Kong. Families that serve as facilita-

tors in such programs may enhance their caregiving processes and, thereby, their

well-being. This study’s aim was to describe how families’ caregiving experiences change,

beginning with the onset of a family member’s mental illness, through their involvement in

a family group or peer-education program as participants then facilitators. Thus, this

study was conducted in a family peer-education program for mental disorders in Japan.

Group interviews were conducted with 27 facilitators from seven program sites about their

experiences before, during, and after becoming facilitators. Interview data were coded and

categorized into five stages of caregiving processes: (1) withdrawing and suppressing nega-

tive experiences with difficulty and regret; (2) finding comfort through being listened to

about negative experiences; (3) supporting participants’ sharing as facilitators; (4) under-

standing and affirming oneself through repeated sharing of experiences; and (5) finding

value and social roles in one’s experiences. The third, fourth, and fifth stages were experi-

enced by the facilitators. The value that the facilitators placed on their caregiving experi-

ences changed from negative to positive, which participants regarded as helpful and

supportive. We conclude that serving as facilitators may improve families’ caregiving pro-

cesses.

Keywords: Family Education Program; Caregivers; Mental Disorders; Program

Evaluation; Qualitative Research; Self-help Groups

Fam Proc 56:408–422, 2017

*Department of Community Health Nursing, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo,

Japan.

†

Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Saitama Prefectural University, Saitama, Japan.

‡

Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Aichi, Japan.

§

National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health, Tokyo, Japan.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Masako Kageyama, Department of Com-

munity Health Nursing, Graduate School of Medicine, the University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku,

Tokyo 113-0033 Japan. E-mail: kageyama-tky@umin.ac.jp.

The authors would like to thank all of the interviewed families. The Omotenashi-FELP is managed by a

non-profit organization called COMHBO (Community Mental Health & Welfare Bonding Organization).

Financial support for the program is provided for non-commercial purpose by the Johnson & Johnson Con-

tribution Committee. All of the authors were volunteer project members of the program at the time of the

study. This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 23593453.

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Family Process, Vol. 56, No. 2, 2017 ©2015 Family Process Institute

doi: 10.1111/famp.12194