Lived Experience of Caregivers of People with Schizophrenia at Amanuel Mental Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A Qualitative Study
| dc.contributor.advisor | Barkot Milkias | |
| dc.contributor.author | Martha Gobena | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-08-12T19:41:36Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-08-12T19:41:36Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024-04-10 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Background- Schizophrenia can be one of the most disabling of all mental health conditions, due to the effects of psychotic symptoms, associated cognitive impairment and substantial disturbance to psychosocial functioning. Schizophrenia not only impacts the life of the affected person but also those around them, especially the caregivers. Describing the impact of caring for a relative with schizophrenia in terms of social leisure, family relations, work and financial difficulty of care givers is important. In addition to this, exploring their coping mechanisms is also important to develop or improve intervention programs that could improve patient and family outcomes. Objective: To explore the lived experience of care givers of people with schizophrenia and their priorities and preferences for intervention Methods- The study was done at Amanuel Mental Specialized hospital. A qualitative study design was used. Purposive sampling was carried out. Data was collected by in depth interview from caregivers of people with schizophrenia who were admitted to the wards and who visited the hospital for follow up during the study period. The interview was directly transcribed into Amharic, then translated into English. The data were coded using Open code software 4.03. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes. Results- The subjective experiences of 13 caregivers of people with schizophrenia were summarized in to four major themes with subordinate subthemes. The four major themes are:- Challenges of caregivers; this includes problems related to work and finance, social relation, health, personal life and goals. Responsibilities of caregivers; this includes care giving responsibility, non-care giving responsibility and additional distress. Coping, support and good experience; religious activity, getting help from other relatives, seeing the improvement of their relative as a rewarding experience. Preferences for intervention: help from other relatives, mental health education, experience sharing Conclusion- Multiple areas of challenges and multiple areas of responsibility of caregivers were identified. Although there are multiple areas of challenges for caregivers of people with schizophrenia, there are also positive experiences associated with caregiving. Caregivers were also able to provide direction on intervention to reduce the difficulties they faced. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/6447 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | |
| dc.publisher | Addis Ababa University | |
| dc.subject | LIVED EXPERIENCE OF CAREGIVERS OF PEOPLE WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA AT | |
| dc.title | Lived Experience of Caregivers of People with Schizophrenia at Amanuel Mental Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A Qualitative Study | |
| dc.type | Thesis |