La esquizofrenia es una enfermedad mental que afecta la calidad de vida del paciente y de su entorno familiar. En otros tiempos se hospitalizaba al paciente y era atendido por profesionales especializados. En la actualidad son los parientes, quienes asumen el rol de cuidadores sin tener, en general, las competencias necesarias. El objetivo de esta investigación es describir los fundamentos teóricos de la esquizofrenia reforzando el conocimiento que poseen las personas responsables del cuidado de los pacientes. Para tal fin, se empleó el paradigma positivista, conenfoque cuantitativo, no experimental, con un diseño documental de tipo analítico descriptivo. Se utilizó como técnica para la recolección de datos la revisión documental y el análisis documental. Atender a un paciente con diagnóstico de esquizofrenia es complicado sino se cuenta con la información mínima sobre la patología y con el apoyo y acompañamiento de otros familiares y/o profesionales de la salud mental, por ello, la psicoeducación es una herramienta que garantiza información adecuada y calidad de vida para pacientes y familiares.
Palabras clave: cuidadores; esquizofrenia; salud mental; psicoeducación.
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a mental illness that affects the patient and his family environment life quality; the patient suffering from schizophrenic was hospitalized and specialized professionals attended him. However, over the years, their own family members, assuming the role of caregiver without having the necessary skills, care for patients diagnosed with this disease at home. For this reason, the objective of this research is to describe the schizophrenia theoretical foundations, reinforcing the people knowledge who has had the responsible for the care patients diagnosed with this disease. In orden to achieve the objective, the positivist paradigm was used, with a quantitative, non-experimental approach, with a descriptive analytical document design. The documentary review was used as a technique for data collection, among the instruments used were the transfer, data coding and notebook. Documentary analysis was used as the analysis technique for the results. In conclusion, caring for a patient diagnosed with schizophrenia is very difficult, especially when the minimum information on the pathology is not available. When the support and accompaniment of other family members and / or mental health professionals is not available; situation that would improve considerably if there is adequate psychoeducation that includes both knowledge of the disease and ideal care to guarantee a better life quality for both.
Keywords: caregivers; schizophrenia; mental health; psychoeducation.