Assessment of caretaker burden in patients with psychiatric illness

Abstract

Background: There are approximately 450 million people across the world dealing with a mental illness. The burden perceived by caregivers of patients with psychiatric illness is a fundamental prognostic aspect in the history of the disease and the caregiver burden is reportedly a critical determinant for negative caregiving outcomes. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted involving 100 caregivers of the patients attending a rural community based psychiatric centre. Results: A total of 100 subjects (caregivers) were recruited for the study. There were a total of 53 females and 47 males with the mean age of 38.9 years, among them 67% were financially able to take care of the patient. The mean burden score of 69.94 was the major finding in our study. 85% of the subjects accept being frustrated about the slow improvement of the patient. The mean burden score was found to be 69.94. Conclusions: From present study it was concluded that high amount of burden was present in the study population mostly in their physical, mental and financial condition.