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Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to think of caregiver burden in mental health
Learning Objective 2: and the importance of investigating this matter with the use of a measuring instrument to quantify family caregiver burden.
Methods: This abstract present part of an exploratory quantitative study that was developed in public mental health service to evaluate use of some instruments to collect relevant information for maintenance of extra-hospital psychiatric treatment. Here are present results of interviews with caregivers using a socio-demographic questionnaire and FBIS-BR. The sample consisted from family’s caregivers of egress of psychiatric hospitalization patients between August, 2009 and August, 2010.
Results: Forty caregivers were identified and accepted to participate. They presented average age of 46 years and majority of them were women and mothers of patients. All presented degree of burden between low and medium, with objective burden predominant major. To assist the patients to manage its medicines (5,76), to help them in the administration of the money (5,74), to carry them (5,38), to make purchases to they (4,93), to ask for to the patients who occupied its time (4,83), to assist them in the care and cleanness of the room and clothes (4,14), were tasks that also contributed for the objective burden of these familiar ones. The highest average scores were about physical safety and future of patient. The FBIS-BR was considered a scale of easy application and understanding for caregivers and researchers. Beyond a doubt, use of FIBS-BR make possible greater knowledge about burden in caregiver daily activities in mental health care.
Conclusion: Considering all the complexity of maintenance of psychiatric treatment and activities of caregivers, presence of burden emphasizes importance of to investigate caregiver burden in mental health care and to develop a collaborative relationship among mental health professionals, patients and families for together improve the maintenance of psychiatric treatments.