[Patient education in psychiatry: Representations of caregivers, patients and their families].

INTRODUCTION

Why do caregivers working in psychiatry seem to wonder about their practices, in front of the recent mediatisation of patient education in France? Do our educational practices meet the needs and the expectations of patients and their families? These questions led us to carry out this qualitative and prospective study concerning the representations of patient education of the main actors in psychiatry.

OBJECTIVE

This work aims to assess the representations of patient education of the main actors in psychiatry, in particular to assess convergences and divergences.

METHODS

This is a qualitative and prospective study. Qualitative data are speeches from caregivers working in psychiatry, patients suffering from a psychiatric pathology and their families. The three populations studied were defined by precise characteristics. The sample was diversified by a variable related to the study theme: experience or not in patient education. Speeches were collected during interviews, which were carried out by the same person. Interviews were semi-structured by a thematic guide, which defined the themes to be explored. The three main themes are: the concept of patient education, the objectives of patient education, and the caregiver/patient relationship. We analysed the content of the speeches with a lexical reference table that we elaborated from the literature of experts in patient education. We also realised a transverse analysis in order to assess convergences and divergences between the different speeches.

RESULTS

Thirty-two interviews were realised with fifteen caregivers (six psychiatrists and nine nurses), ten patients and seven families. In the speeches of the different populations, we found the expected element of language for all the themes explored. Unexpected ideas were also found in the speeches of the various groups. We could find convergences and divergences concerning these unexpected ideas between and within each group. Regarding convergences, all the groups mentioned the unexpected idea of the problem of social representations of psychiatric diseases. The three groups also approached the need to develop the work with families. Patients and families entrusted their feeling that there would be a lack of exchange with some caregivers. Patients and caregivers evoked the paternalistic attitude of some caregivers. Finally, both caregivers and family approached their questions regarding the caregiver/patient relationship during care without the patient's consent. We found several divergences in the caregivers' speeches. These divergences seemed to be correlated with the experience in patient education in psychiatry. They concerned the scope of patient education in psychiatry, the differences perceived between patient education in psychiatry or in somatic cares, and the diagnostic announcement to the patient. This last unexpected idea was the main point of divergence between caregivers and patients.

DISCUSSION

Results of this study showed that the representations of caregivers, patients and their families correlate with the experts' ideas regarding patient education. The analysis of the different speeches highlighted several unexpected ideas, which constitute themes of reflection about patient education. Some of these themes concern in particular the medical domain of psychiatry such as the questions about caregiver/patient relationship during care without the patient's consent and restraint. Another theme of psychiatry specific reflection is the differences perceived by some caregivers between their practices and the patient education in somatic care. Others themes of reflection highlighted all the medical specialities: the need to develop the work with families, the problem of the social representations of diseases, the scopes of patient education and the diagnostic announcement to the patient.

CONCLUSION

This study highlighted several themes of reflection about patient education in psychiatry. We should include this theme of reflection in our practices in order to respond more precisely to the needs and the expectations of the patients and their families.