Exploring the experience of relatives living with individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia in Oman: A qualitative study

Abstract

What is known on the subject?• Relatives of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia experience financial, social, emotional and physical burden.• There is a lack of studies on the experience and needs of caregivers of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia in the Arab world. What does this paper add to existing knowledge?• This is the first qualitative study to reflect the voice of parents, siblings and spouses living with schizophrenia in the Arab world.• The study explored the needs of relatives of hospitalized patients.• This study revealed some positive elements of caregiving experience, especially among siblings.• The concept of stigma resistance may guide the establishment of stigma reduction programmes.• Violence towards the relatives or vice versa is a sensitive issue that needs to be addressed and reported. What are the implications for practice?• Nurses should address parents, spouses and siblings' specific needs and challenges to include them in their relatives' treatment plan.• Understanding the experience, feelings and needs of relatives living with schizophrenia would enable mental health nurses to provide a range of interventions to help reduce caregivers' burden and promote the positive gains from the caregiving experience.• The study emphasizes the need for culturally adapted family interventions to effectively assist relatives in providing care and adjusting to the caregiving role.

Perceived mental health and emotional trajectories of long-term family caregivers of persons with mental conditions: A mixed-methods study

“…This could explain the painful emotions such as fear or pressure reported during the interview by these participants. As in previous research, a heavier burden of care and worse mental status were observed among those with a relative with drug abuse problems, disorders with poorly controlled psychotic symptoms, or poor adherence to treatment (Al-Sawafi et al, 2021;Awad & Voruganti, 2008;Du Plessis et al, 2021;Kretchy et al, 2018).…”

Distributed impact of Severe Mental Disorders in rural Ethiopia, a qualitative study.

“…Social interaction and participation in social events are not the same before and after illness 25 . This resulted from patient related problems such as aggressive behaviour and family member related problems such as being unable to participate in social events.…”

Exploring views of relatives and mental health professionals to inform the cultural adaptation of a family intervention for schizophrenia in Oman: A qualitative study

“…This study is the third stage in the process of developing a FI for Omani relatives caring for hospitalised individuals with schizophrenia (Al-Sawafi et al, 2020, 2021). The current study is the first to explore relatives’ and health professionals’ views and opinions to inform the development of a FI in the inpatient unit.…”

“…The development of the intervention started with a systematic review of culturally adapted FI in the Arab world, which indicated limited evidence in this area (Al-Sawafi et al, 2020). The second stage explored the experience of Omani relatives of hospitalised individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and the findings indicated that families experienced significant burden, stigma, violence and lack of knowledge and may benefit from FI (Al-Sawafi et al, 2021). However, the findings revealed that further exploration of relatives’ preference regarding the content and delivery of the intervention is required.…”