Perception on family support and predictors' of satisfaction with the healthcare service among families of children and adolescents with serious mental illnesses who are in active psychiatric treatment.

PROBLEM: Little is known about the factors related to satisfaction with healthcare services among families of children with serious mental illness who were in active psychiatry treatment.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted to explore perceived family support, illness beliefs, and families' satisfaction with healthcare services. Sixty-eight families of children with anxiety, depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, eating disorders, and autism/Asperger's syndrome participated. Data were collected from March 2015 to December 2016.

FINDINGS: Illness beliefs and perceived family support explained 23% of the variance in family satisfaction with the healthcare service.

CONCLUSION

Family interventions need to specifically focus on the families' satisfaction with healthcare services and on utilizing the family support network, offering emotional support, and exploring illness beliefs.