Effects of Caregiver,s Empowerment Program in Managing Violent Behaviors of Schizophrenia Patients

Abstract

               Violence in schizophrenia patients symbolizes mental health problems that effect patients and caregivers. This quasi-experimental research aimed to compare the perceived empowerment of caregivers in managing violent behaviors of schizophrenia patients before and after participatingthe empowerment program. Purposive sampling was used to select 20 caregivers of schizophrenia patients with violent behaviors who were accompanied patients to Schizophrenia Clinic at Suansaranrom Hospital. The research instruments consisted of 1) the caregiver’s empowerment program in managing violent behavior of schizophrenia patients that was developed by the researcher based on Gibson’s empowerment concept¹⁰ and 2) the perceived empowerment of caregiver questionnaires in managing violent behavior of schizophrenia patients that was developed by Kunnika based on Gibson concepts¹³ The reliability was 0.92. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-test.

                The results found that the scores of the perceived empowerment of caregivers in managing violent behavior of schizophrenia patients after the experiment was higher than before the experiment significantly at the level 0.01.

                This study suggests that caregivers should be receiving empowerment continuously. It can help them to manage violence of schizophrenia patients effectively and also help the patients live in society happily.