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BURNOUT AMONG HOME CAREGIVERS OF PSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS

Darya Khan Laghari, Kazi Humayun Rashid, Hassaan Shaikh

Background: Care of psychiatric patients is a testing job and with the lack of expert care facilities in the resource stricken developing world, the task is left for the families and homes of the patients to perform. The home caregivers of individuals suffering from psychiatric illness are thus at a constant risk of being subjected to mental health consequences such as burnout. Objective: To determine the incidence of burnout among home caregivers of psychiatric patients presenting to the study setting. Methodology: This observational – cross-sectional analysis was conducted upon a sample of 400 home-caregivers accompanying their patients for regular outpatient department visits at Sir Cowasjee Jehangir Institute of Psychiatry & the Dept. of Psychiatry – Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences, Jamshoro from January 2018 to June 2019. No gender or age bias was observed. Basic bio-data, brief details of the sociodemographic background of the patients and caregivers long with disease particulars of the patients were obtained and recorded onto a structured questionnaire. Maslach Burnout Inventory was used to look for burnout. The data obtained was analyzed using SPSS v.22 & Microsoft Excel 360. Results: Among, the 400 home caregivers of psychiatric patients interviewed, 29% were females while the remaining 71% were males. The mean age of the sample stood at 41 (SD ± 8). The incidence burnout among the respondents was noted to be 58%. Burnout was more common among caregivers of patients that were socioeconomically poor, at extremes of age and belonged to the female gender. Severity of psychiatric illness too correlated with greater probability of burnout. Conclusion: After careful consideration, it can be concluded that burnout among home caregivers of psychiatric patients is widespread and a real threat to not just the wellbeing and sanity of the caregivers but the patients as well since burnout impairs the caregivers ability to cater to the needs of the highly dependent and vulnerable psychiatric patients. Keywords:Psychiatric Illness, Home Caregiver, Burnout, Gender,Age.

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