Burden of Care and Quality of Life of Caregivers of Persons with Schizophrenia in a Nigerian Tertiary Hospital

Abstract

Background: Caregivers of individuals with schizophrenia experience physical, socio-economic, and mental stress that may end up plummeting their quality of life. Aims: The study aimed to assess the relationship between the burden of care and the quality of life in carers of individuals with schizophrenia. Subjects and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 246 adult participants (outpatients with schizophrenia and their caregivers in ratio 1:1) in a psychiatric hospital. Patients within age 18–65 years, and their caregiver who were older or equal to 18 years were recruited via convenience sampling. The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI-6), Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, and demographic questionnaire were used to confirm the diagnosis of schizophrenia, obtain the details of the severity of psychopathology, and record the demographic data of the patients, respectively. The Zarit Burden Interview and WHO Quality of Life-Bref scale were deployed to obtain information on carers’ care burden and their subjective quality of life, respectively. Results: One in five of the caregivers’ experiences moderate-severe burden of care. Caring for unemployed patients (P = 0.03) and patients with severe psychopathology (P = 0.01), older age of caregiver (P = 0.033), and being a parent (P = 0.01) were significantly associated with high burden of care. Conclusion: The quality of life of carers of individuals with schizophrenia significantly, negatively correlated with high level of care burden. We recommend that clinicians should endeavor to address some modifiable correlates, such as reducing the patients’ illness severity and liaising with occupational therapists to empower patients with employable job skills.