Stigma and mental health-caregivers' perspective: A qualitative analysis

Background: The caregiver burden for mental health is found all over the world and almost eight out of ten caregivers face it when providing care to the mentally ill person, as the illness is challenging and chronic in nature. Stigma due to mental health contributes to increase in the burden of caregivers. Methods: A qualitative research methodology was adopted to understand the perception of caregivers of mentally ill patients. In-depth interview of 20 participants was conducted who were the caregivers of mentally ill patients in the hospital. Results: From the perceptions of caregivers, we have derived four themes under which the perceptions of caregivers are described. Conclusion: We can conclude that stigma towards mental health in the society is a burden for caregivers when taking care of mentally ill patients and it is obstructing overall mental and physical well-being of the patient. (C) 2015 INDIACLEN. Published by Elsevier, a division of Reed Elsevier India, Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.