Abstract
Purpose: We aimed to clarify benefits that family facilitators gain by continuous implementation of a family-peer education program on mental disorders. Method: A cross-sectional study was employed. Questionnaires were administered at 38 program sites with sessions that ended after October from 45 sites with sessions in the 2013 fiscal year. The questionnaires were handed to family participants and facilitators during the last session and were collected by mail. Only the facilitators' questionnaires were analyzed for this study. The independent variable was the number of courses served as a facilitator. The dependent variables were the Group Benefit Scale and subscales Instillation of Hope and Secure Emotional Expression from the Therapeutic Factors Inventory-19. Results: The questionnaires were handed to 164 facilitators, 133 were returned, and 130 were valid. The more the respondents had served as facilitators, the more highly evaluated were the following factors: "Since joining the program, my coping as a family has improved greatly" (F=5.60, p<0.05), "Since I started joining the program, I feel much better about myself" (F=15.76, p<0.001), and Instillation of Hope (F=5.29, p<0.05). Discussion: Continuous implementation as facilitators may improve facilitation skills by improving abilities in listening to and praising others. These skills may also help facilitators communicate with their ill family members. Facilitators help families by using their experiential knowledge, thereby making a negative experience meaningful. Being a facilitator may affect the facilitators' ways of living. Therefore, continuous implementation by family facilitators is beneficial for the facilitators.
