Abstract
(1) Background: The aim of this research was to analyze factors associated with quality of life (QoL) and marital satisfaction in married family caregivers of patients with mental disorders. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in all community mental health services in Goiania municipality, Brazil, in 2016–2017. Married family caregivers of patients with severe and persistent mental disorders were recruited and their QoL and marital satisfaction was assessed by using the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument Abbreviated version (WHOQOL-BREF) and Marital Satisfaction Scale. Multiple linear regressions were performed to identify factors associated with QoL and marital satisfaction. (3) Results: For 163 family caregivers, the psychological and environmental QoL domains presented the best and the worst scores, respectively. Factors independently associated with better QoL for caregivers were male caregiver, the younger age of a caregiver, >8 years of schooling, ≥5 years as a caregiver who performed physical activities, caregiver without chronic disease, and no patient’s crisis in the last 30 days. Factors independently associated with marital satisfaction of the caregiver were male caregiver, caregiver with >8 years of schooling, caregiver who received support by relatives to care for the patient, caregiver who performed physical activities, no patient’s crisis in the last 30 days, and patient hospitalization in the last six months; (4) Conclusions: The main predictor for marital satisfaction was support by relatives, and for QoL it was no patient’s crisis in the last 30 days.
Highlights
One in five individuals of the population are affected by a common mental disorder in the last 12 months of their life [1]
163 married family caregivers were enrolled in the study
Among the patients with mental disorders, 95 (58.3%) were female, the mean age was 46 years, and the median age was 48 years. These patients with mental disorders who were cared for by family members were diagnosed with schizophrenia, schizotypal disorders, and delusional disorders (n = 77; 47.2%); mood disorders (n = 52; 31.9%); neurotic disorders, stress related disorders, and somatoform disorders (n = 22; 13.5%); other mental disorders due to brain injury, dysfunction, and physical disease (n = 11; 6.75%); and organic mental disorder, including symptomatic ones (n = 1; 0.6%)
Summary
One in five individuals of the population are affected by a common mental disorder in the last 12 months of their life [1]. The closure of psychiatric hospitals in recent decades resulted in an increase of patients with mental disorders being treated in the community mental health services. The deinstitutionalization of these patients was a benefit, but it raised the responsibility of families for caring for psychiatric patients since the caregiving is mostly shared among close relatives [2]. The relatives of patients with mental disorders have assumed the key role of primary caregivers in both periods of relative stability and during relapses or crisis, when the patients suffer exacerbations. Public Health 2019, 16, 2825; doi:10.3390/ijerph16162825 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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