Family burden and involvement of relatives in schizophrenic patients treatment
The aim of the work was to study the severity of the “family burden” in relatives with different forms of family involvement in the tretment process. The study recruited 41 people who take care for patients with schizophrenic spectrum disorders. Among them: 28-parents of patients (25-mothers), 13-spouses. The close circle of patients was surveyed using the Zarith Burden Interview family burden scale (ZBI), which allows assessing the severity of the family burden. To determine the forms of involvement (constructive, destructive), a collection of characteristic statements and a description of the usual actions during supporting process which behaviorally reflecting the relatives attitude to medical treatment was collected. As a result of the study, it was found that the intensity of the caregivers burden in 69% corresponded to the average and high levels. In 53% of cases, the relatives involvement in the treatment process is potencially destructive. The severity of the burden varies with: different levels of caregivers activity, the possibility of patient participation in maintaining treatment and the presence of disease and treatment features perception. Discussed: distribution of families burden intensity in the examined relatives group, especially experiencing burdened with different forms of support and the development of the algorithm used to assign socio-therapeutic interventions aimed at reducing family burden.