Bakhshi, E.

Background: Caregiving to patients with schizophrenia is burdensome for family caregivers and has profound effects on them. Objectives: This study aimed to explore the impacts of informal caregiving among the family caregivers of patients with schizophrenia. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted on a purposive sample of 12 family caregivers of patients with schizophrenia and 3 health-care providers. Semi-structured interviews were held for data collection, and conventional content analysis was used for data analysis.

Background: Since the deinstitutionalization policy, in psychiatric hospitals, the care of patients with schizophrenia was left to their families which has been imposing a heavy burden on them. Family caregiver burden could have consequences for caregivers, patients, and the society. There is very little consensus on the definition and dimensions of the caregiver burden, which leads to a lack of consistency in the results of research. Thus, the present study was aimed to redefine the family caregiver burden of patients with schizophrenia.