BackgroundStigma is one of the most destructive features of mental illnesses that may affect the family caregivers. This study aimed to analyze the effect of training interventions of stigma on family caregivers of the mental illness patients.Materials and methodsThis quasi-experimental pre- and post-test study was performed on a single group of 43 family caregivers of mental illness patients in Hamadan Psychiatric Hospital, Iran, in 2015. The samples were taken through convenience sampling method and the data collection tool was a stigma questionnaire made by the researchers. The questionnaires were filled by the participants within pre-intervention and 1-month post-intervention. All the data were analyzed by SPSS version 16, and the mean and standard deviation by paired t test and Wilcoxon test.ResultsFindings of this study demonstrated that women included 60% of the family caregivers. The average age of caregivers and the duration of caregiving were 41.67 ± 11.62 years and 66.28 ± 7.99 months, respectively. The mean and standard deviation for pre-intervention stigma score were 82.47 ± 12.23 indicating that the family caregivers suffered from some problems arisen from living with mental patients. They include not getting married, unable to find a job, embarrassment, humiliation by others, disgrace, and shame. Our results revealed that the mean and standard deviation of stigma score decreased to 29.28 ± 7.52 after training, and this difference was statistically significant (P < 0.001).ConclusionsAccording to the results of present study, training interventions reduce the issues caused by stigma and help the family members of mental patients to face and cope with the problem.

Paying attention to and meeting the needs of people who are elderly helps to improve their health. Caring for the elderly includes addressing their spiritual needs which has been less investigated. This study aimed to examine the spiritual needs of the Muslim elderly living in nursing homes. A qualitative study was conducted using conventional content analysis. Seventeen elderly people (nine women and eight men) were selected from four nursing homes in Iran using purposive sampling. The subjects were asked to participate in semi-structured interviews. The interview transcripts were analyzed using content analysis. First, semantic units were identified and then related codes were extracted and classified into categories and subcategories based on their similarities. Finally, themes were extracted from the data. The elderly’s spiritual needs were classified into three main themes: religious needs, existential needs, and communication needs. Religious needs were divided into religious beliefs, individual religious practices, and collective religious practices. Existential needs were categorized as meaning of life, purpose of life, and need for peace. Communication needs were conceptualized to include relationship with God and relationship with others. It is argued that caregivers of the elderly should recognize the elderly’s spiritual needs, including religious, existential, and communication needs, and attempt to maintain and promote the elderly’s spiritual health.

PurposeDespite its efficacy and safety, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is underutilized, in part, due to the stigma associated with the treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of counseling on stigma in patients with psychiatric disorders receiving ECT.Patients and methodsA total of 114 patients with psychiatric disorders undergoing ECT were randomly divided into two groups. Both the groups received routine care and treatment, but the intervention group (n=57) received four counseling sessions. At the beginning and end of the study (6 weeks, post-treatment), patients completed the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness scale. The data were analyzed using independent and paired sample t-tests.ResultsThere was no significant difference in the mean stigma scores of participants in the control and intervention groups before counseling (P>0.08). However, post-intervention, there was a significant difference in the mean stigma scores between both the groups (P<0.001).ConclusionThe findings demonstrate that the counseling intervention is effective in decreasing stigma in patients undergoing ECT. Therefore, it is recommended to use this therapeutic method in such patients.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of stress management training on stigma and social phobia among HIV-positive women. This quasi-experimental pre- and posttest study was performed on a single group of 55 HIV-positive females Hamadan city, Iran, in 2018. The samples were taken through a convenience sampling method and the data collection tool were Berger HIV Stigma and Connor Social Phobia Scale. The mean scores of the stigma were 119.98 ± 21.15 and 94.78 ± 16.34 and social phobia were 24 ± 17.4 and 11.2 ± 9.68 before and after the intervention, respectively. The results of the paired sample t test indicated a significant difference in the stigma and social phobia mean scores before and after the intervention in HIV-positive women ( P < .05). The results of the study revealed that stigma and social phobia are big challenges for HIV-positive women since these people are always judged by others and are subjected to labeling and rejection.