Quality of life of family primary caregivers of individuals with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia in south of Brazil

Mírian Cohen, Ana Flávia Barros da Silva Lima, Clarissa Pereira de Albuquerque Silva, Sandro René Pinto de Sousa Miguel and Marcelo Pio de Almeida Fleck

International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 2022, vol. 68, issue 4, 818-826

Abstract: Background: The process of deinstitutionalization of individuals with mental disorders (MD) brought greater family responsibility in terms of patient care. Aims: Evaluate the Quality of Life (QoL) and its associated factors of primary caregivers of bipolar and schizophrenic subjects. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from 2012 to 2015 with 125 caregivers at an outpatient service of a teaching hospital in the South of Brazil. QoL instruments (WHOQOL-Bref, SF-36), questionnaires regarding socio-demographic, clinical data and depressive symptoms (BDI) were applied. Results: Caregivers of schizophrenic individuals presented lower QoL scores than caregivers of bipolar individuals, with moderate effect in physical, and social domains of WHOQOL-Bref, and in physical functioning, role-physical, and role-emotional domains of SF-36. QoL scores of caregivers were lower when compared with the normative data of the Brazilian population. The factors associated with lower QoL scores were: patient diagnosis of schizophrenia, female gender, presence of clinical disease and presence of depressive symptoms in the caregiver. Conclusions: Caregivers of patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder present a significant impairment in their QoL when compared with the general population, highlighting the relevance of developing support programs in the mental health services that include these caregivers.

Keywords: Quality of life; caregiver; bipolar disorder; schizophrenia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:68:y:2022:i:4:p:818-826

DOI: 10.1177/00207640211006737

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