Background:
The international shift toward community care and the deinstitutionalization of people with mental illness has seen much of the responsibility for day-to-day care transferred to family members. This responsibility can be associated with profound psychosocial, physical and financial impact. Keeping Care Complete is the first large, international survey of carers of people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
Method:
About 100 Australian carers were enrolled in an eight-country survey of 982 carers of people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Participants were asked a series of questions regarding treatment, treatment discontinuation, relapse, satisfaction with treatment and carer burden. This was done by means of a 30-min telephone interview.
Results:
Australian carers are much involved in their family member's treatment: 80% of those surveyed reported being the primary carer, 42% spent more than 20 h/week caring for their relative and 19% were responsible for administering medications. For 97% of carers, family support was the key factor, as well as medication, for keeping their family member well and 70% of the participants were frustrated by the low expectations for long-term improvement set by health care professionals.
Conclusion:
This survey provides significant insights into the experiences of carers of people with mental illness and helps quantify the impact of this responsibility on carers in terms of their physical, mental and financial well-being.
