Experience Caring for People with Schizophrenia in Families in West Sumatera

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Schizophrenia is a severe neurobiological brain disorder that continues and has poor insight so that it affects the functioning of the lives of individuals, families, and communities. Caregivers of people with schizophrenia had more stressed because of the nature, symptoms, and prolonged duration of illness of people with schizophrenia. AIM: This study aimed to determine the family’s experience in the practice of caring for people with schizophrenia in the family in West Sumatra. METHODS: The research population was families who cared for people with schizophrenia in Sumatera Barat and have been caring for people with schizophrenia for more than a year. It had determined with the purposive-sampling method with an in-depth interview technique. The researchers, the main instrument, explore the caregiver’s experience through five family development tasks. RESULTS: The results of this study obtained five major themes, namely, recognizing problems, making treatment decisions, how families treat people with schizophrenia, difficulties faced by families, and utilization of health services. CONCLUSION: In caring for people with schizophrenia, the family has carried out care tasks in the family, namely, recognizing problems, making decisions about treatment, families caring for sick family members, and families can take advantage of health services optimally.