Employment disadvantage and associated factors for informal carers of adults with mental illness: are they like other disability carers?

Caregivers' Experience of Supporting Deaf Adults with Mental Health Disorders in Ghana

BACKGROUND

Caregivers play a crucial role in the support and management of individuals experiencing mental health disorders; however, there is a paucity of research concerning the experiences of caregivers of deaf persons diagnosed with any form of mental disorder in Ghana. This study aims to explore the lived experiences of these caregivers, with a particular focus on their perceptions of mental health, available support systems, challenges encountered, and the consequent impact on familial relationships while supporting this underserved population.

METHOD

This qualitative study engaged eleven family caregivers of deaf adults diagnosed with a mental health disorders made up of ten females and one male aged 45-68 years, recruited across four of the sixteen administrative regions in Ghana. Utilizing a semi-structured interview guide, face-to-face interviews were conducted to gather in-depth narratives from the participants.

RESULTS

Thematic analysis of the data revealed several key themes, including the awareness and understanding of mental health disorders, availability and accessibility of mental health support services and training, dynamics of psychosocial and familial relationships, and the multifaceted challenges faced in caregiving for individuals with mental health disorders.

CONCLUSION

The findings underscored an urgent need for the development of a specialized caregiving manual tailored for caregivers of deaf individuals experiencing mental health disorders. This study advocates for policymakers to prioritize the creation of such resources to enhance care delivery and improve overall mental health outcomes for this vulnerable population.

Care burden and associated factors among caregivers of patients with bipolar type I disorder

BACKGROUND

Family caregivers play a significant role in providing care for these people at home and need new evidence on the outcomes of their caregiving. Caregiving for people with chronic psychiatric disorders, especially Bipolar type I Disorder (BD-I), is a major challenge in the healthcare system. This study aimed to examine the relationship between caregiver burden, resilience and optimism in family caregivers of patients with BD-I.

METHODS

This study used a cross-sectional design and involved 209 family caregivers of people with BD-I by convenience sampling method. Data were collected using the Zarit Burden Inventory (ZBI), Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and Revised Life Orientation Test (LOT-R). The participants were selected from the list of family caregivers covered by the Ibn Sina Hospital's health clinic in Mashhad, Iran. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis with a significance level of 0.05.

RESULTS

The average ages of the caregivers and their patients were 45.43 (13.34) and 36.7 (14.05), respectively. The average caregiver burden score was 41.92 (19.18), which was moderate (31 to 60). The predictors of caregiver burden in this study were caregiver-related factors such as optimism (p < 0.001, β = 0.25) and employment status (housewife: p = 0.038, β = 0.43; self-employed: p = 0.007, β = 0.12; retired: p < 0.001, β = 0.23), and patient-related factors such as the presence of psychotic symptoms (p < 0.001, β = 0.33), daily caregiving hours (p < 0.001, β = 0.16), history of suicide attempts (p = 0.035, β = 0.43), and alcohol consumption (p < 0.001, β = 0.85). These variables explained 58.3% of the variance in caregiver burden scores.

CONCLUSION

The study concluded that family caregivers of people with BD-I had moderate levels of caregiver burden and low resilience, influenced by various factors related to themselves and their patients. Psychological education interventions within the framework of mental health support systems are recommended to reduce caregiver burden in these people.

'It feels meaningful': How informal mental health caregivers in an LGBTQ community interpret their work and their role

Many members of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse, and queer (LGBTQ) communities provide informal mental health support to peers. This type of support is valuable for people who receive it - even helping to prevent suicide. It is also meaningful to those who provide it. In this article, we focus on how LGBTQ people derive meaning from their experiences of supporting peers. In-depth interviews with 25 LGBTQ people in Melbourne, Australia, indicate that those providing informal mental health support to fellow community members recognise their roles as meaningful in three main ways: in terms of self, relationships and communities. Recognising the meanings that LGBTQ caregivers derive from helping fellow community members provides useful information service providers and policymakers seeking to better address mental distress in LGBTQ communities and support caregivers. It is useful to understand this meaningful work in an LGBTQ context as caregiving that challenges gendered and heteronormative assumptions about what care is, and who provides it.

Economic impact of informal caring for a person with arthritis in Australia from 2015 to 2030: a microsimulation approach using national survey data

OBJECTIVES

To estimate the economic burden of informal caregivers not in the labour force (NILF) due to caring for a person with arthritis in Australia, with projections of these costs from 2015 to 2030.

DESIGN

Static microsimulation modelling using national survey data.

SETTING

Australia nationwide survey.

PARTICIPANTS

Participants include respondents to the Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers who are informal carers of a person who has arthritis as their main chronic condition and non-carers.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Estimating the economic impact and national aggregated costs of informal carers NILF to care for a person with arthritis and projecting these costs from 2015 to 2030 in 5-year intervals.

RESULTS

On a per-person basis, when adjusted for age, sex and highest education attained, the difference in average weekly total income between informal carers and non-carers employed in the labour force is $A1051 (95% CI: $A927 to $A1204) in 2015 and projected to increase by up to 22% by 2030. When aggregated, the total national annual loss of income to informal carers NILF is estimated at $A388.2 million (95% CI: $A324.3 to $A461.9 million) in 2015, increasing to $A576.9 million (95% CI: $A489.2 to $A681.8 million) by 2030. The national annual tax revenue lost to the government of the informal carers NILF is estimated at $A99 million (95% CI: $A77.9 to $A126.4 million) in 2015 and is projected to increase 49% by 2030.

CONCLUSION

Informal carers NILF are economically worse off than employed non-carers, and the aggregated national annual costs are substantial. The future economic impact of informal carers NILF to care for a person with arthritis in Australia is projected to increase, with the estimated differences in income between informal carers and employed non-carers increasing by 22% from 2015 to 2030.

Professional perspectives on serodiscordant family service provision in the context of blood-borne viruses

In recognition of the broader relational aspects of viral infections, family support is considered important when someone is diagnosed with a blood-borne virus (BBV), such as HIV, hepatitis C (HCV) and hepatitis B (HBV). However, families' own support needs are often not a priority in service provision within the BBV sector. In this article, we draw on qualitative interviews with 20 key informants working in various professional capacities in health, social policy, care and advocacy sectors in Australia, and explore their experiences and perspectives on family inclusivity in their services. Overall, key informants acknowledged the diversity of what constitutes family, and consistently viewed family engagement as beneficial to both diagnosed individuals and the wider familial networks affected by a diagnosis. However, prioritising individual care in support services presented barriers to engaging families, which are further complicated by the role of stigma in shaping the social realities of living with a BBV. Increasing understanding in service provision settings that serodiscordance can be a family experience has the potential to widen this analytic lens to consider the support needs of families in their own right.

Economic Impacts and Quality of Life for Caregivers of Patients with Retinitis Pigmentosa: A Cross-Sectional Japanese Study

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is the second leading cause of visual impairment in Japan and causes progressive vision loss in affected patients. Caregiving for patients with RP is associated with socioeconomic impacts; however, data on the magnitude and scope of these impacts are lacking. This cross-sectional study surveyed informal caregivers of patients with RP in Japan. The questionnaire assessed the socioeconomic status of participants; work impacts through the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire adapted for caregivers; and quality of life impacts through the Japanese version of the Caregiver Reaction Assessment (CRA) and the 5-level EQ-5D version (EQ-5D-5L). Of the 37 participating caregivers, 28 (75.7%) were employed. Among those, the average annual income was 2,722,080 yen (n = 20) and the mean loss of work productivity was 6.6%. The mean EQ-5D-5L index score was 0.882, and the mean CRA total score was 2.1. A mild to very severe impact on family life, leisure and hobbies, social life, and mental health was experienced by 83.8%, 78.4%, 75.7%, and 70.3%, respectively. These results suggest that caregivers of patients with RP may be disadvantaged in terms of employment and income and may experience wide-ranging impacts on their quality of daily life.

Quantifying the size of the informal care sector for Australian adults with mental illness: caring hours and replacement cost

PURPOSE

To quantify and value the total informal support provided by family and friends to Australian adults with mental illness in 2018.

METHODS

The number of mental health carers was drawn from the 2015 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC), adjusted to the 2018 population. Annual caring hours by type of assistance were estimated using the SDAC, 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing and an online carer survey. Caring hours for each task were assigned an hourly replacement cost from the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Informal caring was valued as the sum of these costs minus expenditure on carer income support payments, estimating how much it would hypothetically cost governments to replace this care with formal support services.

RESULTS

An estimated 354,000 (95% uncertainty interval (UI): 327,000-383,000) Australian mental health carers provided 186 million (95% UI: 159-215) hours of support in 2018. The estimated replacement cost was AU$8.4 billion (95% UI: 7.0-10.0), excluding AU$1.3 billion in income support. Univariate sensitivity analyses demonstrated that results were robust to variation in model inputs, with total caring hours the most influential parameter. Using an alternative estimate of mean caring hours, the replacement cost could be as high as AU$13.2 billion (95% UI: 11.2-15.4).

CONCLUSION

Informal carers provide substantial support to people with mental illness, highlighting their important contribution to the mental health system and reinforcing the need for carer support services. Future valuation studies would benefit from refinement of available data collections, particularly on hours and types of care provided.