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International Journal of Social Psychiatry
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Article

Factors associated with care burden and quality of life among caregivers of the mentally ill in Chinese society

Chun Chieh Fan1 and Ying-Yeh Chen2*

1 Department of Adult Psychiatry, Ju Shan Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan
2 Taipei City Psychiatric Centre, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ychen{at}tpech.gov.tw.


  Abstract

Objectives: Few studies in Taiwan have looked into the burden of caregivers for the mentally ill and the influence of the burden on the quality of life among caregivers. The aim of this study is to explore the risk factors that may aggravate care burden and to assess the relationship between the caregivers’ burden and their quality of life.

Method: Ninety caregivers of patients with mental illness, who were attending outpatient clinic services in Taipei City Psychiatric Centre, were assessed using a burden questionnaire and the brief questionnaire of the World Health Organization Quality of Life instrument (WHOQOL-BREF).

Results: Burden scores were significantly correlated with the number of care hours the caregivers spent daily with the patient, irrespective of their age, gender, kinship and educational level. Caregivers of patients with different psychiatric illnesses had similar levels of burden. Higher burden scores were correlated with a lower quality of life and retained unique predictive variance in multiple regressions in all four domains of the WHOQOL-BREF.

Conclusions: These findings indicate that care burden has a significant impact on caregivers’ quality of life. Daily care hours with the patient are the unique deter-minant of caregivers’ burden in Taiwan. Measures to reduce daily care hours should be considered.

First published on October 15, 2009
International Journal of Social Psychiatry 2009, doi:10.1177/0020764009348440
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