Effect of Home Nursing Care on the Severity of Symptoms in Patients With Bipolar I Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract

Bipolar I disorder is a common, chronic, and recurrent disease in which improper and inadequate follow-up of patients after discharge leads to increased hospitalization. This study aimed at investigating the effect of home nursing care on the severity of symptoms of bipolar I disorder. This clinical trial was performed on 90 patients admitted to 22 Bahman Qazvin Hospital in 2019. The available sampling was done using random allocation of six blocks in experimental and control groups. In the experimental group, after leaving the hospital, the intervention was performed for 3 months in the form of two telephone calls and one face-to-face meeting per month. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, the Yang scale questionnaire, and entered into the SPSS-24 software. Statistical tests such as Mann-Whitney u test, Fisher, independent T-test, paired T-test, chi-square, and ANCOVA were used at the significance level of p < .05. The severity of the disease before the intervention in the experimental and control groups were (93/9 ± 25/32) and (04/11 ± 86/28), respectively, showing no statistically significant difference (p = .146). However, after the intervention, the mean severity of the disease in the experimental and control groups were (17/5 ± 38/13) and (79/12 ± 21/33), respectively, showing a statistically significant difference (p < .05). According to the results, the home nursing care for patients leads to a reduction in the severity of symptoms and a reduction in the rate of re-hospitalization of patients.