Burden of Care Among Caregivers of Mentally Ill Patients, Siliguri.

Abstract

Caregivers of people with mental illnesses are an essential part of their support system. The responsibility of caregiving can impose a significant burden on them. The degree of this burden experienced by caregivers of people with mental illness is perceived to adversely affect the quality of care that family members can provide to their loved ones. A descriptive cross sectional research design was used. The purpose of the study was to assess the burden of care among 139 caregivers of mentally ill patient in a selected hospital using purposive sampling technique. The Zarit Burden Interview Scale was used to assess the burden of care. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistical method such as frequency, mean, percentage, standard deviation and chi square test to find out the association between level of burden of care and selected demographic variables. Findings showed that majority (46.04%) of caregivers had moderate burden, 28.78% had mild burden, 20.14% had severe burden and 5.04% had little or no burden of care. There was significant association between level of burden of care with demographic variables like educational qualification, employment, relationship with patient and duration of caregiving at p≤0.05 level of significance. Caregivers had moderate level of burden of care while caring for their mentally ill patient. Implementing self-help strategies and psychoeducational programs could alleviate this care-related burden. Such measures aim to improve their perceived knowledge on mental health conditions and develop coping skills to deal with their patient’s behaviour effectively.