Family caregiving for adults with schizophrenia and diabetes mellitus

Determining care burden and psychiatric symptom level in caregiver of schizophrenia patient

PURPOSE

The present study was conducted to determine the care burden and psychiatric symptom levels of the caregivers of schizophrenic patients.

DESIGN AND METHODS

The caregivers of schizophrenic patients were included in this descriptive study.

FINDINGS

It was determined that there was a statistically significant difference in the care burden scores and the education, family type, and the presence of physical diseases of the caregivers (P < .05). It was determined that there was a statistically significant positive relation between age and care duration (r = .339, P = .001).

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

It is recommended that the family members are guided to plan activities that will allow the family members to relax and cover their own needs.

Preventive care for physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption: a survey of family carer expectations of health service delivery for people with a mental health condition

Background

Chronic disease is a leading cause of death globally, where inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption and inadequate physical activity are consistently implicated as key contributing risk factors for such diseases. People with a mental health condition are reported to experience a higher prevalence of such risks and experience an increased morbidity and mortality from resultant chronic disease. Despite guidelines identifying a need for services accessed by people with a mental health condition to provide care to address such health risk behaviours, sub-optimal care is frequently reported suggesting a need for innovative strategies to increase the provision of physical health care. An exploratory study was conducted to examine: 1) family carers’ expectations of care provision regarding fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity by health and community services for people with a mental health condition; 2) carer’s own health risk behaviour status and perceptions of the influence of the health risk behaviours on mental health; and 3) possible associations of socio-demographic, clinical and attitudinal factors with carer expectations of care provision for fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity.

Methods

Family carers (n = 144) of a person with a mental health condition completed a cross-sectional survey. Participants were members of a mental health carer support organisation operating in New South Wales, Australia.

Results

A high proportion of participants considered care for fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity respectively should be provided by: mental health hospitals (78.5, 82.7%); community mental health services (76.7, 85.9%); general practice (81.1, 79.2%); and non-government organisations (56.2, 65.4%). Most participants perceived adequate fruit and vegetable consumption (55.9%), and physical activity (71.3%) would have a very positive impact on mental health. Carers who perceived adequate fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity would have a positive impact on mental health were more likely to expect care for such behaviours from some services.

Conclusions

The majority of participants expected care for fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity be provided by all services catering for people with a mental health condition, reinforcing the appropriateness for such services to provide physical health care for clients in a systematic manner.

Experiences and support needs of informal caregivers of people with multimorbidity: a scoping literature review

Objective: Describe and synthesise existing published research on the experiences and support needs of informal caregivers of people with multimorbidity.Design: Scoping literature review. Primary database and secondary searches for qualitative and/or quantitative English-language research with an explicit focus on informal carers of people with multimorbidity (no date restrictions). Quality appraisal of included papers. Thematic analysis to identify key themes in the findings of included papers.Results: Thirty-four papers (reporting on 27 studies) were eligible for inclusion, the majority of which were rated good quality, and almost half of which were published from 2015 onwards. The review highlights common difficulties for informal carers of people with multiple chronic illnesses, including practical challenges related to managing multiple health care teams, appointments, medications and side effects, and psychosocial challenges including high levels of psychological symptomatology and reduced social connectedness. Current gaps in the literature include very few studies of interventions which may help support this caregiver group.Conclusion: Interest in this research area is burgeoning. Future work might fruitfully examine the potential benefits of audio-recorded health care consultations, and digitally delivered psychosocial interventions such as online peer support forums, for supporting and enhancing the caring activities and wellbeing of this caregiver group.

The experiences of Turkish families caring for individuals with Schizophrenia: A qualitative inquiry

BACKGROUND

In Turkey, individuals with schizophrenia usually live with their families. Therefore, families are main caregivers and face psychological, financial and social problems.

AIM

The aim of this study is to understand the personal burdens and coping strategies, and social support affecting the families that provide care to the individuals with schizophrenia.

METHODS

In-depth interviews were conducted with 31 members of 12 families.

RESULTS

Four themes were formed: learning and accepting the disorder, caregiving, social dimensions and service dimensions. Families have a problem with accepting this order and caregiving affects their quality of life both financially and socially. As schizophrenia is one of the reasons for being isolated from community, families prefer hiding it. Although families are satisfied with community-based systems, they need long-term solution, training and financial aid.

CONCLUSIONS

To reduce the burden, family therapies, education and psychological support should be provided for families, and job opportunities, long-term caregiving services and psychological support should be provided for individuals with schizophrenia.

Supporting change in chronic disease risk behaviours for people with a mental illness: a qualitative study of the experiences of family carers

Background

People with a mental illness experience greater chronic disease morbidity and mortality, and associated reduced life expectancy, compared to those without such an illness. A higher prevalence of chronic disease risk behaviours (inadequate nutrition, inadequate physical activity, tobacco smoking, and harmful alcohol consumption) is experienced by this population. Family carers have the potential to support change in such behaviours among those they care for with a mental illness. This study aimed to explore family carers’: 1) experiences in addressing the chronic disease risk behaviours of their family members; 2) existing barriers to addressing such behaviours; and 3) perceptions of potential strategies to assist them to provide risk behaviour change support.

Methods

A qualitative study of four focus groups (n = 31), using a semi-structured interview schedule, was conducted with carers of people with a mental illness in New South Wales, Australia from January 2015 to February 2016. An inductive thematic analysis was employed to explore the experience of carers in addressing the chronic disease risk behaviours.

Results

Two main themes were identified in family carers’ report of their experiences: firstly, that health behaviours were salient concerns for carers and that they were engaged in providing support, and secondly that they perceived a bidirectional relationship between health behaviours and mental well-being. Key barriers to addressing behaviours were: a need to attend to carers’ own well-being; defensiveness on behalf of the family member; and not residing with their family member; with other behaviour-specific barriers also identified. Discussion around strategies which would assist carers in providing support for health risk behaviours identified a need for improved communication and collaboration between carers and health services accessed by their family members.

Conclusions

Additional support from general and mental health services accessed by family members is desired to assist carers to address the barriers to providing behaviour change support. Carers have the potential to support and extend health service interventions aimed at improving the chronic disease risk behaviours of people with a mental illness but may require additional information, and collaboration from services. Further research is needed to explore these constructs in a large representative sample.

Effect of diabetes on caregiver burden in an observational study of individuals with Alzheimer's disease

Background

The burden on caregivers of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is associated with the patient’s functional status and may also be influenced by chronic comorbid medical conditions, such as diabetes. This post-hoc exploratory analysis assessed whether comorbid diabetes in patients with AD affects caregiver burden, and whether caregivers with diabetes experience greater burden than caregivers without diabetes. Caregiver and patient healthcare resource use (HCRU) were also assessed.

Methods

Baseline data from the GERAS observational study of patients with AD and their caregivers (both n = 1495) in France, Germany and the UK were analyzed.

Caregiver burden was assessed using the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI). Caregiver time on activities of daily living (ADL: basic ADL; instrumental ADL, iADL) and supervision (hours/month), and caregiver and patient HCRU (outpatient visits, emergency room visits, nights hospitalized) were assessed using the Resource Utilization in Dementia instrument for the month before the baseline visit. Regression analyses were adjusted for relevant covariates. Time on supervision and basic ADL was analyzed using zero-inflated negative binomial regression.

Results

Caregivers of patients with diabetes (n = 188) were younger and more likely to be female (both p < 0.05), compared with caregivers of patients without diabetes (n = 1307). Analyses showed caregivers of patients with diabetes spent significantly more time on iADL (+16 %; p = 0.03; increases were also observed for basic ADL and total caregiver time but did not reach statistical significance) and had a trend towards increased ZBI score. Patients with diabetes had a 63 % increase in the odds of requiring supervision versus those without diabetes (p = 0.01). Caregiver and patient HCRU did not differ according to patient diabetes.

Caregivers with diabetes (n = 127) did not differ from those without diabetes (n = 1367) regarding burden/time, but caregivers with diabetes had a 91 % increase in the odds of having outpatient visits (p = 0.01).

Conclusions

This cross-sectional analysis found caregiver time on iADL and supervision was higher for caregivers of patients with AD and diabetes versus without diabetes, while HCRU was unaffected by patient diabetes. Longitudinal analyses assessing change in caregiver burden over time by patient diabetes status may help clarify the cumulative impact of diabetes and AD dementia on caregiver burden.