SOBRECARGA DE CUIDADORES DE PACIENTES CON ENFERMEDADES MENTALES

Abstract

The current trend towards the deinstitutionalization of patients with diagnoses of mental illness has influenced the increase of relatives who are caregivers of these types of patients. Dealing with a family member that has a mental illness causes side effects such as stress, aging, and anger those that lead to burnout in caregivers. There is a psychological affection in the caregivers due to the process; it depends on the duration of the disease, and the complexity it presents. The lack of family support networks, duration of illness, as well as type of diagnosis influences the level of burnout. This research aims to determine the level of overload that presents a group of caregivers of patients suffering from mental illness and who are hospitalized in a Mental Institute in Guayaquil; in addition to establishing the present relationship between the level of overload and the time of illness and the type of diagnosis. In this investigation the Zarit Burden Interview was used to measure the overload in caregivers and also questions were asked to find out the length of the disease and the diagnosis of patients. It was found that the level of burden was intense and the most common diagnosis was schizophrenia.