The Burden of Schizophrenia on Caregivers

Objective: Most patients with schizophrenia need personal support and care for their own health and safety. This long-term and comprehensive care needed can increase the susceptibility of the caregivers to physical and mental problems by exhausting their mental and physical resources. In this study, we aimed to examine the emotional burden level of family members who take care of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. Methods: It is a descriptive and cross-sectional study. All family caregivers of schizophrenia patients who came to outpatient clinics during the specified period were included. The Participatory Caregiver Burden Scale was administered to all participants who provided informed consents. Results: Among the 100 caregivers recruited; 68% female and 54% were female. We found that the vast majority of caregivers had emotional care giving burdens (69%), especially low-level burdens (66.67%, 46/69). Emotional care burden was frequent among caregivers (93.75%, 15/16), fathers (94.11%, 16/17), and nonparticipants (80.00%, 8/10). Discussion: The burden of care for the family members was quite large. The results show that there is a need for interventions that allow identification and control of this problem, especially focusing on partners, parents, and less educated caregivers.