Burden of Caregiving Among Caregivers of Patients with Severe Mental Illnesses in Benin City, Nigeria

Background: Severe mental illness exerts a tremendous burden on both the sufferer and caregiver. Such burden has been severally identified as enormous involving psychological, physical and economic challenges.

Objectives: This study examined the prevalence of burden of caregiving among caregivers of patients with severe mental illness; its relationship with the socio-demographic characteristics of the caregivers and patients, and the clinical variables of the patients.

Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive design was employed, and participants included a dyad of 141 consecutive caregivers and patients who met the study inclusion criteria at the psychiatric out-patient clinic of a tertiary hospital. The Zarit Burden Interview was used to collect data from the caregivers; in addition, separate socio-demographic data collection sheets were used to collect data from caregivers and patients accordingly. Version 22 of SPSS was used to analyze the data at a statistically significant level of P< 0.05.

Results: About 37.6% of the caregivers experienced moderate to severe burden of caregiving. Duration of caregiving had a weak positive correlation with burden of care (r=.298, p=.004). While adjusting for other variables, duration of caregiving (OR=1.163, P=.017, 95% CI=1.027-1.317), and poor social support (OR=.438, P=.047, 95% CI=.194-.199) retained independent, statistically significant association with burden of caregiving, explaining about 16% in the variance of burden of caregiving.

Conclusion: There is a need to provide social support for caregivers of persons suffering from mental illness. Subsidization of cost of medication and hospitalization can reduce the burden experienced.