Quality of life of caregivers of patients diagnosed with severe mental illness at the national referral hospitals in Uganda.

Cynthia Ndikuno,David Mukunya,Mariam Namutebi,Connie Olwit,Job Kuteesa

doi:10.1186/s12888-016-1084-2

Abstract

BackgroundWorldwide, 450 million people suffer from mental and behavioral disorders. In Uganda, it is estimated that 35% of the population that is 9,574,915 people suffer from some form of mental illness. Caregivers are increasingly bearing the responsibility of taking care of these patients, which can influence their QoL due to the social and economic costs they incur. The aim of the study was to assess the QoL of caregivers for patients diagnosed with severe mental illness attending the National Referral Hospitals in Uganda.MethodThis was a cross sectional study. A pretested tool with two parts; a sociodemographic part and a validated WHOQOL-BREF, was used to collect data from 300 consecutive eligible participants. SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) Version 22 and Stata Version 14 were used in data entry and analysis.ResultsOf the 300 participants, 57.3% of the caregivers had a poor QoL. The statistically significant factors associated with QoL were environment (Adjusted coefficient = 0.016, 95% CI = 0.009–0.023), caregiver satisfaction with their health (Adjusted coefficient = 0.405, 95% CI = 0.33–0.487), psychological wellbeing (Adjusted coefficient = 0.007, 95% CI = 0.0002–0.013), and education level (Adjusted coefficient = 0.148, 95% CI = 0.072–0.225).ConclusionQoL of caregivers for patients diagnosed with mental illness is generally poor due to the added responsibilities and occupation of their time, energy and attention. This additional responsibility results in high levels of stress and caregivers may fail to have appropriate coping mechanisms. Interventions like support groups or counseling should be put in place to aid caregivers in their role and therefore improve QoL. This study adds to the international database of QoL literature and calls for more attention to be placed on caregivers in supporting their role and improving their QoL so as to lead to better patient outcomes among those diagnosed with mental illness.

Highlights

Worldwide, 450 million people suffer from mental and behavioral disorders
The statistically significant factors associated with Quality of Life (QoL) were environment (Adjusted coefficient = 0.016, 95% CI = 0.009–0.023), caregiver satisfaction with their health (Adjusted coefficient = 0.405, 95% CI = 0.33–0.487), psychological wellbeing (Adjusted coefficient = 0.007, 95% CI = 0.0002–0.013), and education level (Adjusted coefficient = 0.148, 95% CI = 0.072–0.225)
QoL of caregivers for patients diagnosed with mental illness is generally poor due to the added responsibilities and occupation of their time, energy and attention

Summary

Introduction

450 million people suffer from mental and behavioral disorders. In Uganda, it is estimated that 35% of the population that is 9,574,915 people suffer from some form of mental illness. Caregivers may experience reduced productivity at home and in the workplace losing wages [5] This combined with the health care costs for the patients diagnosed with severe mental illness affect the caregivers’ financial situation creating or worsening poverty [5]. Caregivers are prone to experiencing social consequences including; disrupted social networks, stigma and discrimination, which exposes them to high levels of Ndikuno et al BMC Psychiatry (2016) 16:400 depression, stress and anxiety [5, 6]. These social, economic and psychological changes may greatly impact on the caregivers’ Quality of Life (QoL) [7]

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Conclusion