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

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

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.

BRAZIL; SCHIZOPHRENIA; CROSS-sectional method; FUNCTIONAL status; HEALTH surveys; SEX distribution; PSYCHOLOGY of caregivers; QUALITY of life; QUESTIONNAIRES; MENTAL depression; EMOTIONS; BIPOLAR disorder

International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 2022, Vol 68, Issue 4, p818

0020-7640

Academic Journal

10.1177/00207640211006737