A Descriptive Co-relational study on Burden, Social Support and Family Wellbeing among Caregivers of Mentally Ill Patients in Mansik Aarogayashala , Gwalior (M.P.)

Ms. Leena Sharma

Assistant Professor, Bombay Hospital College of Nursing, Vijaynagar, Ring Road, Indore, M.P-452010

*Corresponding Author Email: leenas146@gmail.com

ABSTRACT:

As a worldwide phenomenon, no one is immune – mental illnesses affect people of all ages, cultures, educational and income levels. Burden of caregivers of people with bipolar illness reported moderate or great distress in at least in one burden domain. Hence the descriptive co-relational study has been conducted to assess the burden, social support and family wellbeing among caregivers of mentally ill patients in Mansik Aarogayashala , Gwalior (M.P.). Aim of the study was to determine the caregivers’ burden as measured by caregivers burden, social support, family well being and find the relationship between care giver burden and social support, care giver burden and family well being and social support and family well being. By using purposive sampling technique collects total 50 samples. The data was collected using demographic proforma, caregivers’ burden assessment scale, social support scale and family wellbeing scale by applying the questioning technique. Results revealed that, Maximum number of caregivers had moderate burden (60%), low social support (82%) and perceived high level of wellbeing (48%); 36% had mild burden, 16% had moderate social support and 46% perceived moderate level of wellbeing. Caregiver burden had negative correlation with social support(r=-0.344, P < 0.005) and family wellbeing (r= -0.404, P < 0.005) while there was positive correlation between social support and family wellbeing(r=0.447, P < 0.005). Study concluded that Caregiver burden had a significant negative relationship as social support and family wellbeing decreased, caregiver burden increased. But there was a positive relationship between social support and family wellbeing, family wellbeing increased with increased social support.

KEYWORDS: Caregivers; burden; social support; family well-being, mentally ill.

INTRODUCTION:

Mental and behavioral disorders are common and affect more than 25% of all people at some time during their lives. One in four families is likely to have at least one member with a behavioural or mental disorder. It is estimated that mental disorders contribute a large share to the global disease burden and account for 33% of the years lived with the disability worldwide.¹

The Global Burden of Disease study found mental disorders to be the fourth leading cause of disability. Depression alone was the single leading cause of global disability. For a better treatment family cohesion is essential.²

Living with and caring for an individual with a psychiatric disorder seems inherently stressful. Relatives of psychiatric patients report a wide range of reactions to their situation. On the whole, these family members endorse significantly higher level of psychological distress than the general population.³

Mental illness has long been a problem in modern society. The treatment and rehabilitation of clients with mental illness are a heavy burden on the government. It is estimated that two to three persons in every thousand adults suffer from serious mental illness such as affective disorders and schizophrenia. ⁴

Deinstitutionalisation, restricted hospital admission and reduction of length of inpatient treatment also change the situation of relatives. Nowadays they are much more involved in the care of patients. Many carers of a person with schizophrenia suffer from ongoing distress whereas professionals tend to underestimate family burden. Thus carers feel ignored by mental health professionals. This divergent perception underlines the importance of quantitative studies on family burden.⁵

Health professionals and mental health nurses have an important duty to acknowledge the burden of caregivers. They are in a position to render support and refer them to get further support through social workers and community agencies. Such measures would ensure family wellbeing for families with mentally ill patients⁶. For that the mental health nurse needs to assess the burden of caregivers and to identify the support they receive during their period of care-giving in the hospital. Many studies have been done on the burden that relatives experience when living with a psychiatric patient. However, there are only a few studies done in India to find out the relationship between caregiver burden, social support and family wellbeing. Hence the investigator was interested in studying the extent of caregivers’ burden, their social support and family wellbeing and to see the relation among these three variables.

MATERIALS AND MATERIALS:

A descriptive co-relational survey approach was used for the present study since the purpose of the study was to determine the caregiver’s burden, social support and family wellbeing and to find out the relationship among these variables, and also to find out the association between caregiver’s burden and selected demographic variables. The samples for this study comprised of 50 caregivers of the mentally ill patients were selected by Purposive technique from the Mansik Aarogayashala Gwalior (M.P.). The data was collected using demographic proforma, caregivers’ burden assessment scale, social support scale and family wellbeing scale by applying the questioning technique. Formal written permission was obtained from the concerned authorities before data collection. The investigator introduced to the subjects and explained the purpose of the study and requested the participants for their cooperation and ensured the confidentiality of their responses. An informed consent was obtained from the respondents indicating their willingness to participate in the study.

RESULTS:

The study revealed that, 36% of the caregivers had mild burden, 60% had moderate burden and only 4% had severe burden. Where as in social support maximum number of caregivers of mentally ill patients (82%) had low social support and 16% of caregivers had moderate social support and 2% of caregivers had high social support. In wellbeing 48% of caregivers of mentally ill patients had high level of wellbeing and 46% of caregivers had moderate level of wellbeing and only 6% had low level of wellbeing. The study revealed that there was a negative correlation between caregivers’ burden and social support (r = -0.344, r₄₉ = 0.273, P < 0.05), negative correlation between caregivers’ burden and family wellbeing (r = -0.4036, r₄₉ = 0.273, P < 0.05) and there is a positive correlation between social support and family wellbeing scores (r = 0.447, P < 0.05). The present study didn’t find significant association between caregivers’ burden, social support, family wellbeing and selected demographic variables.

CONCLUSION:

Study concluded that, Maximum number of caregivers of the mentally ill patients had moderate burden, low social support and perceived high level of wellbeing. The caregivers’ burden had negative relationship with social support and family wellbeing, whereas positive relationship was found between social support and family wellbeing and the caregivers’ burden was not associated with the selected demographic variables such as age, gender, education, occupation, family income and relationship with the care receiver. Study was limited to only burden and no interventions were carried out to reduce the caregivers’ burden. The study recommended that, comparative study between different significant relationships of the caregivers of the mentally ill patients in selected hospitals can be conducted and also Developmental studies are recommended for constructing standardized tools on social support and family wellbeing in the Indian setting.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST:

None

SOURCE OF SUPPORT:

None

ETHICAL CLEARANCE:

Taken from P.G. College of nursing, Cancer Hospital Research institution committee

REFERENCE:

1. Faith Malach and Dr. David B. Hogan, INMHA Mental Health Research Agenda. A response from the Canadian Collaborative Mental Health Initiative. Canadian Coalition for Seniors’ Mental Health, 2004.

2. Tharyan P, Braganza D and Jebaraj P. Mental health as a key issue in the future of global health developments, Research for developmental output, 95(376/377), 2006, 36-49.

3. Rammohan A, Rao K and Subbakrishna KD. Burden and coping in caregivers of persons with schizophrenia, Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 44(3), 2002, 220-7.

4. Sisk JR. Caregiver burden and health promotion. International Journal of Nursing studies, 37, 2000, 37-43.

5. Ricard N, Bonin PJ and Ezer H. Factors associated with burden in primary caregivers of mentally ill patients, International Journal of Nursing Studies, 36, 1999, 73-83.

6. Oldridge M and Huches T. Psychological well-being in families with a member suffering from schizophrenia.0 An investigation into long-standing problems, British Journal of Psychiatry, 161, 1992, 249-51.

Received on 11.08.2016 Modified on 18.08.2016

Asian J. Nur. Edu. and Research.2017; 7(2): 228-230.

DOI: 10.5958/2349-2996.2017.00047.7