Schizophrenia and family burden in Morocco: assessment in a sample of 150 caregivers

Abstract Background There have been few studies conducted in Africa about the burden on families of patients with schizophrenia. This study had two main objectives: assessing the burden of those families and identifying the socio-demographic factors associated with this one. Methods We included 300 participants: 150 were primary family caregivers of 150 patients with schizophrenia. A questionnaire was used to collect their sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, and their objective burden using the FBIS (Family Burden Interview Schedule). Results Patients were mostly men ( n = 122, 81%), the mean age was 32.4 years ± 10.1, and more than half of the patients were psychoactive substance users. Participants (caregivers) were mostly women ( n = 90, 60%). Their mean age was 51.9 ± 12.8 years, with a percentage of 62 (41%) illiteracy, while 98 (65%) were parents. The mean score of the family burden was 21.82 (0–48). The most affected categories were family routine, family interaction, and finances. The burden of families was associated with five sociodemographic variables: the female gender of the caregiver ( p = 0.01), the male gender of the patient ( p = 0.02), his young age ( p = 0,004), his education level ( p < 0.0001), and his psychoactive substance use (PAS) ( p < 0.000 1). Conclusion The three main constraints encountered by families caring for a patient with schizophrenia were disruption of daily activities, deterioration in the quality of family interactions with those around them, and lastly financial difficulties. These results highlighted the need to set up intermediary socio-medical structures, which would act as a link between conventional hospital services and families.