Background: Psychiatric emergencies are
acute disturbances in behavior, thought, or mood that require immediate
intervention to prevent harm to the individual or others. Caregivers of persons
with mental disorders play a vital role in recognizing early warning signs and
initiating timely management during such emergencies.
Aims: To assess the effectiveness of a Structured
Teaching Programme (STP) on knowledge regarding selected psychiatric
emergencies among caregivers of patients with mental disorders in a mental
health institution, Odisha.
Methods: A quantitative research approach with a
pre-experimental one-group pretest–posttest design was adopted. The study was
conducted among 50 caregivers selected through non-probability convenient
sampling. Data were collected using a self-structured knowledge questionnaire
consisting of 25 multiple-choice questions. A Structured Teaching Programme on
psychiatric emergencies was administered after the pretest, and posttest was
conducted after seven days.
Results: The mean pretest knowledge score was 12.40 (SD =
3.10), which increased to 18.90 (SD = 2.80) in the posttest. The calculated paired‘t’
value (t = 18.72, p < 0.001) indicated a statistically significant
improvement in knowledge. Significant associations were found between posttest
knowledge scores and selected socio-demographic variables such as age,
educational status, and relationship with patient, duration of caregiving, and
previous exposure to information.
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