training health professionals to conduct family education for families of patients with first-episode psychosis: adherence to protocol.

objective: the  implementation of  family  psychoeducation at  the  service delivery level is not without difficulty. few mental health professionals receive special training to work with families especially in iran.   the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of training health professionals in terms of their adherence to protocol. method: eight professionals (general practitioners, nurses and social workers) participated in a training program for health professionals as part of the roozbeh first-episode psychosis program  (roof) to  conduct family psychoeducation. training included a 3-day- workshop and 12 supervision sessions during the course of the implementation of the psychoeducation program. the family psychoeducation sessions (multiple-family group or single-family home-based) were tape-recorded. transcripts of the audiotaped sessions were analyzed based on the content of the manual and were scored accordingly. results: twenty-four recorded sessions were analyzed in terms of th  adherence  to  protocol,  the  number  of  questions  and  the  time  for  each session.  the  overall  rating  showed  a  72%  adherence  to  the  protocol. multiple-family group sessions had a higher rate compared to the single- family home-based family psychoeducation sessions (79% to 69%) as well as the time spent and questions asked. the rate of adherence to the protocol of conducting the family psychoeducation sessions had not changed over time . conclusion: considering the amount of time taken for training and supervision, the level of adherence to the protocol was satisfactory. tape recording sessions and  regular  supervision would be  beneficial following specialized  training.  further  research  is  needed  to  tailor  the  amount  of training and supervision required for professionals to conduct family psychoeducation programs in different settings.