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Folorunsho Tajudeen Nuhu, Abdulkareem Jika Yusuf, Akinsola Akinbiyi, Joseph Oluyinka Fawole, Obafemi Joseph Babalola, Zainab Titilope Sulaiman, Olaniyi Oyeniran Ayilara. The Burden experienced by Family Caregivers of Patients with Epilepsy attending the Government Psychiatric Hospital, Kaduna, Nigeria. The Pan African Medical Journal. 2010;5:16 Key words: Disease burden, Caregiver, Epilepsy, Patients, Kaduna, Nigeria Permanent link: http://www.panafrican-med-journal.com/content/article/5/16/full Received: 19/02/2010 - Accepted: 24/05/2010 - Published: 01/06/2010 © Folorunsho Tajudeen Nuhu et al. The Pan African Medical Journal - ISSN 1937-8688. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
The burden experienced by family caregivers of patients with epilepsy attending the government psychiatric hospital, Kaduna, Nigeria
Folorunsho Tajudeen Nuhu1,&, Abdulkareem Jika Yusuf2, Akinsola Akinbiyi3, Joseph Oluyinka Fawole4, Obafemi Joseph Babalola1, Zainab Titilope Sulaiman1, Olaniyi Oyeniran Ayilara1
1Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Barnawa, Kaduna. Nigeria, 2Department of Psychiatry, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria, 3Mercy Mental Health 117-129 Warring Crescent, Horpers crossing 3029 Australia, 4Department of Psychiatry, National Hospital, Abuja. Nigeria
&Corresponding author
Dr Folorunsho T. Nuhu, Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Barnawa, Kaduna, Tel: +2348056073975, +2348060465845, Nigeria
Background
Caring for patients with chronic medical and psychiatric disorders is associated with significant burden. However little is known about the burden experience by caregivers of patients with epilepsy in Nigeria. The objective of this study, therefore, was to assess the level and correlates of burden among caregivers of patients with epilepsy.
Methods
It was a cross-sectional study carried out among 231 eligible caregivers of patients with epilepsy attending the psychiatric clinic of government psychiatric hospital in Kaduna, Northern Nigeria. Socio-demographic/clinical characteristics of patients and socio-demographic characteristics of caregivers were recorded, and the Zarit Burden Interview administered to caregivers to assess their experience of burden.
Results
The mean age of the caregivers was 43.6 ±9.5 years, 52.4% lived outside Kaduna and the mean seizure-free period for the patients was 26.4 ±36.5 weeks. One hundred and twenty (51.9%) caregivers had high burden. High burden was significantly associated with patients aged less than20 years, patient’s unemployment, long duration of epilepsy, short seizure-free period, family history of epilepsy and living outside Kaduna (p value<0.05).
Conclusion
Caregivers of patients with epilepsy experience significant burden while caring for their relatives and this is mainly associated with patient’s factors and location of residence. Therefore efforts should be made control seizure and make health care available and affordable to all citizens irrespective of where they live.
