ECT Educational Video For Caregivers: Study From India

 Out on PubMed, from clinicians in India, is this paper:

Effect of a Video-Assisted Teaching Program About ECT on Knowledge and Attitude of Caregivers of Patients with Major Mental Illness.

Nagarajan P, Balachandar G, Menon V, Saravanan B.Indian J Psychol Med. 2021 Jan;43(1):45-50. doi: 10.1177/0253717620938038. Epub 2020 Aug 11.PMID: 34349306

The abstract is copied below:

Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a widely used treatment modality for mental disorders such as major depression, bipolar affective disorder (BPAD) and catatonia. However, it is considered as one of the most controversial and misunderstood procedures, especially among caregivers.

Methods: An experimental pre-test, post-test design was adopted. Forty caregivers of persons with schizophrenia (n = 12), depression (n = 13), BPAD with mania (n = 8), and BPAD with depression (n = 7) were selected using convenience sampling. The caregiver's knowledge and attitude toward ECT were assessed before and after the intervention with a single session video-assisted teaching on ECT. The data collection tool used to assess the caregiver's knowledge and attitude was based on a pre-validated questionnaire.

Results: The pre-test evaluation demonstrated poor knowledge among 12 (30%) and a moderate level of knowledge on the remaining 28 (70%) of the study subjects. The attitude scores revealed a neutral attitude among 47.5% and a conservative attitude among 10% of the subjects toward ECT. There was a significant improvement in both mean (±SD) knowledge (13.4 ± 4.7 vs 25.6 ± 2.9) and attitude (10.7 ± 3.5 vs 14.6 ± 3.9) scores following intervention with video-assisted teaching.

Conclusion: A single session involving video-assisted teaching improves the knowledge and attitude toward ECT among caregivers by removing the myths and misconceptions about ECT.

Keywords: ECT; attitude; knowledge; video-assisted teaching.

The pdf is here.

This is a straightforward study demonstrating the positive effects of a 20-minute video with handout on knowledge of, and attitudes towards, ECT, in caregivers of  ECT patients.
The study is simple, the results are predictable and obvious, but nonetheless important.
I applaud any effort to improve ECT education.
Stigma and the knowledge gap (between preconceived erroneous notions and the reality of contemporary ECT) remain the greatest impediments to the more widespread prescription of ECT. This is true not only among caregivers and patients, but also among the medical community. For all followers of the ECT education literature, this paper is worth a full read, ~10 minutes.

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