Family Burden and Perceived Stigma Among Caregivers of Patients with Schizophrenia

Abstract

Family members who provide ongoing support and are committed to the welfare of patients are called caregivers. Stigma compounds the burden experienced by family members of those with a mental illness. Schizophrenia is characterized by distortions in thinking, perception, emotions, language, sense of self and behavior. The purpose of the study has to explore about the Family burden and perceived stigma among caregivers of patents with schizophrenia. Literature has been searched the both electronic databases including PubMed and manual searches for this. Caregivers with high supernatural explanations of mental illness had stigma, which evidences the need to challenge supernatural explanations of mental illness. Since caregivers’ stigma can negatively affect patients’ treatment-seeking, adherence, and rehabilitation process, programs giving caregivers counseling by health care providers and establishing family support groups may be helpful to tackle stigma among caregivers of people with mental illness.