comparing the effects of continuous care model and psychological support training package on self-care in patients with bipolar i disorder

Background: despite the growing prevalence of bipolar i disorder (bd-i), implementation of continuous care after hospital discharge in these patients is limited.aim: to compare the effects of continuous care model (ccm) and psychological support training package (pstp) on self-care in patients with bd-i.method: this clinical trial was conducted during 2017-2018 on 90 bd-i patients admitted to ibn-sina psychiatric hospital in mashhad, iran. ccm and pstp designed in the form of a cd and a manual were implemented (within 12 weeks) to intervention groups. a control group received the routine care. the research instrument was roldan-merino self-care requisites scale completed before and two months following the intervention. to analyze the data, one-way analysis of variance (anova) was run in spss, version 16.results: the two study groups were homogeneous in terms of demographic characteristics. the results of one-way anova before the intervention revealed no significant difference among the three groups considering self-care mean scores (p=0.52); however, this variable was significantly different among the groups following the intervention (p<0.001). according to the post-hoc dunnett’s test results, a significant difference was observed in self-care mean scores between the ccm and control groups (p<0.001) and between the ccm and pstp groups (p=0.04). nonetheless, there was no significant difference between the ccm and control groups in this regard (p=0.13).implications for practice: ccm can improve self-care in patients with bd-i. therefore, it could be used to empower these patients and their families.