Family Caregivers’ Concerns and Expectations From a Long-Stay Residential Facility for Persons with Mental Illness: Experience From Richmond Fellowship Society (I), Bangalore Branch

Objetivos: avaliar o impacto da sobrecarga familiar nos cuidados ao paciente psiquiátrico crônico. Metodologia: pesquisa bibliográfica por meio de referências publicadas em documentos, livros, revistas, artigos científicos, internet, ou seja, aborda tudo o que foi publicado sobre o tema proposto. Resultados: a convivência com a pessoa acometida por uma doença mental é desgastante para o familiar e, muitas vezes, há dificuldade de compreensão dos sintomas apresentados pelo doente. Conclusão: há a necessidade de desenvolver programas de informação, orientação e apoio aos familiares dos pacientes psiquiátricos.Descritores: Sobrecarga, Familiares Cuidadores, Pacientes Psiquiátricos.Perception of the familiar overload in the cares to the chronic psychiatric patientAims: to assess the impact of family burden in caring for chronic psychiatric patients. Methodology: literature search by means of references in published papers, books, magazines, papers, and internet, that is, it approaches all publishings on the theme. Results: living with the person affected by mental illness is stressful for the family and sometimes there is difficulty in understanding the symptoms presented by the patient. Conclusion: there is a need to develop information, guidance and support to families of psychiatric patients.Descriptors: Overload, Family Caregivers, Psychiatric Patients.La percepción de la carga familiar en el cuidado de pacientes psiquiátricos crónicosObjectivos: Evaluar el impacto de la carga familiar en el cuidado de pacientes psiquiátricos crónicos. Metodología: la literatura a través de referencias de artículos publicados, libros, revistas, periódicos, internet, o las direcciones de lo que se ha publicado sobre el tema. Resultados: la convivencia con la persona afectada por una enfermedad mental es muy estresante para la familia y con frecuencia hay dificultad en la comprensión de los síntomas que presenta el paciente. Conclusión: Hay una necesidad de desarrollar programas de información, orientación y apoyo a las familias de los pacientes psiquiátricos.Descriptores: Sobrecarga, Los Cuidadores Familiares, Los Pacientes Psiquiátricos.

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The experiences of family caregivers of people with severe mental illness in the Middle East: A systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative data

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0254351 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (7) ◽

pp. e0254351

Author(s):

Aisha Hamed Alyafei ◽

Taghrid Alqunaibet ◽

Hassan Mansour ◽

Afia Ali ◽

Jo Billings

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Middle East ◽

Severe Mental Illness ◽

Family Caregivers ◽

Critical Role ◽

Geographical Area ◽

Well Being ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Middle East Countries

Background There is a wealth of literature exploring the experiences of family caregivers of people with severe mental illness (SMI) in western countries, however, this topic has been neglected in the Middle East, despite families being the main source of caregiving in this context. The purpose of this review was to conduct a systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis to explore the experiences of family caregivers living in countries in the Middle East caring for a relative with severe mental illness. Methods A systematic review and meta-synthesis were conducted, to comprehensively gain a thorough and detailed overview of what is known about family caregivers’ experiences from published qualitative research in the Middle East geographical area from inception to May 2021. The review protocol was pre-registered with PROSPERO (Ref: CRD42020165519). Results The review identified twelve qualitative studies that explored caregivers’ experiences of caring for relatives with SMI in Middle East countries. Family caregivers’ experiences were captured under seven overarching themes. The participants across all studies reported negative consequences of providing care, increased burden and emotional distress. Many experienced issues with family/marital relationships and stigmatizing attitudes and behaviours from their communities. Caregivers expressed the need for increased support which was perceived to have a critical role in improving family caregivers’ experiences. Conclusions The meta-synthesis revealed many challenges and issues that affect caregivers of people with SMI in the Middle East. Family caregivers experienced distress and burden, and reported significant impact on their psychological well-being. Their experiences highlight the urgent need to provide more support for family caregivers in Middle East countries.

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PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS OF FAMILY CAREGIVERS OF PATIENTS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA

10.36106/paripex/2103752 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 43-44

Author(s):

Sejal Macwan ◽

Ninad Jhala

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Family Caregivers ◽

Psychological Problems ◽

World Health ◽

World Health Report ◽

Care Givers ◽

Care Giving ◽

Health Report ◽

The Family

Approximately 24 million people worldwide experiencing schizophrenia (The World Health Report, 2001). Several people with mental disorder have to rely on support of family and friends to help them in their day-to-day happenings. In that era, caregivers are at risk for physical and mental health dilemma.1 Caring for a person with any mental illness often creates physical, emotional dilemma among the family caregivers more than they think. That is why it is also essential to rationalize that issue too. Family care givers of patients with any mental illness have different perspectives and coping strategies about the situation that may lead to feeling of sadness, loneliness, helplessness, hopeless at a variance among the care givers. OBJECTIVES: • To study levels of psychological problems faced by the family caregivers of patients with schizophrenia. • To study association between demographic variables and levels of psychological problems of family caregivers with schizophrenia. METHOD: A descriptive study was carried out to examine the psychological problems faced by family caregivers of patients with schizophrenia. 200 family caregivers were selected by applying stratified systematic sampling method from the government hospitals of mental health of Gujarat state with a criterion of minimum facility of 100 beds. A self-structured interview schedule was designed for study purpose by referring the Burden Assessment Tool of Thara et.al (1998) and Zarit Burden Interview. RESULT: Majority of the respondents (51%) feel anxious, depressed and frustrated due to caregiving responsibility. Majority of the respondents (52.5%) believed that care giving responsibility is mentally tiring for the family caregivers. Majority of the respondents (40.5%) agree with the statement that their contacts with family & friends have lessened due to the illness of care receiver.

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Vietnamese-American family caregivers of persons with mental illness: Exploring caregiving experience in cultural context

Transcultural Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/1363461518793185 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 55 (6) ◽

pp. 846-865 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Quynh Nhu (Natasha) Bui ◽

Meekyung Han ◽

Sadhna Diwan ◽

Tran Dao

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Cultural Values ◽

Family Caregivers ◽

Cultural Context ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Recovery Process ◽

American Family ◽

Snowball Sampling ◽

Vietnamese American

While involvement of family caregivers can play an important role in the recovery process of persons with serious mental illness (SMI), family caregivers often endure poor health and mental health issues due to caregiving-related distress. These challenges may be exacerbated for Vietnamese American families due to cultural values (e.g., familism and stigma). This qualitative exploratory study examined how Vietnamese American family caregivers of persons with SMI describe their caregiving experience. Using convenience and snowball sampling, the study recruited 21 participants who took part in two Vietnamese-language focus groups. Key findings of the study addressed three themes: (1) the influence of cultural and religious values on caregiving and mental health; (2) the negative impact of caregiving on caregivers’ wellbeing; and (3) the stigma attached to mental illness. The study offers useful insights to assist mental health practitioners in tailoring culturally appropriate and effective services for Vietnamese caregivers.

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The Influence of Social Support and Care Burden on Depression among Caregivers of Patients with Severe Mental Illness in Rural Areas of Sichuan, China

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16111961 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (11) ◽

pp. 1961 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Xiaxia Sun ◽

Jingjing Ge ◽

Hongdao Meng ◽

Zhiguo Chen ◽

Danping Liu

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Severe Mental Illness ◽

Family Caregivers ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Sichuan Province ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Psychological Consequences ◽

Care Burden

Depression is one of the most common psychological consequences of caregiving. Caring for patients with severe mental illness (SMI) adds significant challenges to family caregivers’ mental health. The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence of depression among caregivers of SMI patients in rural areas of Sichuan province of China, to examine the influence of social support and care burden on depression, and to explore the intermediary effect of care burden between social support and depression among caregivers of SMI patients. Data were collected from 256 primary caregivers of SMI patients in rural Sichuan Province in China. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the hypothesized relationship among the variables. We found that a total of 53.5% of caregivers had depression. Both care burden (β = 0.599, 95%CI: 0.392–0.776) and social support (β = −0.307, 95%CI: (−0.494)–(−0.115)) were directly related to depression, while social support had a direct association with care burden (β = −0.506, 95%CI: (−0.672)–(−0.341)). Care burden mediated the relationship between social support and depression. For the socio-demographic variables, gender, education level and per capita annual income of household had significant correlations with depression (p < 0.05). The results strongly demonstrated that social support and care burden were predictors of depression, especially social support. Policymakers should fully recognize the role of primary family caregivers in caring for SMI patients and promote interventions to decrease care burden and reduce caregivers’ depression by improving social support and network. More attention should be given to female caregivers and caregivers with lower education and lower household income levels.

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Community-Based Information Technology Interventions for Persons with Mental Illness

Empowering Marginal Communities with Information Networking ◽

10.4018/978-1-59140-699-0.ch008 ◽

2006 ◽

pp. 191-226

Author(s):

Rosanna Tarsiero

Keyword(s):

Information Technology ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Developing Countries ◽

Medical Information ◽

Illness Experience ◽

Community Based ◽

Distance Training ◽

Profound Impact ◽

Self Help ◽

Information Providers

The chapter provides the reader with an overview of the problems persons with mental illness experience in their everyday life, and guides readers through how ICT access and usage can be approached in order to empower such a marginalized population in both developed and developing countries. It argues that, since isolation is their main problem, networking those people with reliable sources of medical information, providers of distance training and learning, and online self-help communities can have a profound impact on lifting their marginalization. The author hopes that the role ICT can play for these people will no longer be overlooked or neglected, and that policymakers will be inspired to use ICT worldwide to defeat mental illness by implementing solutions tailored on these people’s needs.

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The effects of a community mental health intervention project upon family caregivers of persons with suspected mental illness in the Chinese cultural context

International Social Work ◽

10.1177/0020872817695642 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 61 (6) ◽

pp. 1067-1082 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Petrus Ng ◽

Daniel KW Young ◽

Jiayan Pan ◽

King-Keung Law

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Community Mental Health ◽

Family Caregivers ◽

Family Caregiving ◽

Cultural Context ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Family Members ◽

Health Intervention ◽

Mental Health Intervention

Family members play an important role in caregiving with more emphasis on early intervention for people suffering from mental illness. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, this study examines the effects of a community mental health intervention project (CoMHIP) on burdens of caregivers who have family members with suspected mental illness. Results showed that family caregivers’ burden and psychological stress level had been reduced ( p < .001). The caregivers subjectively experienced a significant reduction in stress regarding the caregiving subscales, supervision, tension, worrying and urging after seeking CoMHIP service. Findings for the study have implications on social work interventions regarding family caregiving of people with suspected mental health problems.

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Barriers to Family Caregivers’ Coping With Patients With Severe Mental Illness in Iran

Qualitative Health Research ◽

10.1177/1049732318758644 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 28 (6) ◽

pp. 987-1001 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Hossein Ebrahimi ◽

Naeimeh Seyedfatemi ◽

Hossein Namdar Areshtanab ◽

Fatemeh Ranjbar ◽

Graham Thornicroft ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Care ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Mental Health Care ◽

Severe Mental Illness ◽

Family Caregivers ◽

Qualitative Content Analysis ◽

Care Delivery ◽

Interview Method ◽

Bipolar Affective Disorders

The broad spectrum of problems caused by caring for a patient with mental illness imposes a high burden on family caregivers. This can affect how they cope with their mentally ill family members. Identifying caregivers’ experiences of barriers to coping is necessary to develop a program to help them overcome these challenges. This qualitative content analysis study explored barriers impeding family caregivers’ ability to cope with their relatives diagnosed with severe mental illness (defined here as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorders, and bipolar affective disorders). Sixteen family caregivers were recruited using purposive sampling and interviewed using a semi-structured in-depth interview method. Data were analyzed by a conventional content analytic approach. Findings consisted of four major categories: the patient’s isolation from everyday life, incomplete recovery, lack of support by the mental health care system, and stigmatization. Findings highlight the necessity of providing support for caregivers by the mental health care delivery service system.

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