Description of the intervention
Psychoeducation may be defined as the education of a person with psychiatric disorder in
subject areas that serve the goals of treatment and rehabilitation. The terms ‘patient
education’, ‘patient teaching’, and ‘patient instruction’ have also been used for this process.
All imply that there is a focus on knowledge. The purpose of patient education is to enable
the patient to engage in behaviour change. Compliance with treatment for seriously or
persistently mentally ill people is of great concern and is often a focus of patient education.
Many people with severe mental illness are frequently and repeatedly hospitalised due to
poor compliance with treatment. Many patients feel stigmatised by their illness and may
deny its existence, which ultimately increases non-compliance. This issue is even more of a
problem when people are living in the community, and is often related to adverse effects of
medication as well as a lack of adequate knowledge about medication (Antai-Otong 1989).
Therefore, the goal of patient education may be to try to prevent hospitalisation or to
manage the illness or condition to help the patient attain her/his maximum degree of health.
The psychiatric and mental health nursing practice standards include patient teaching and,
according to these standards, client adherence to treatment regimens increases when health
education is an integral part of the client’s care (ANA 1982).