Caregiver burden among relatives of patients with schizophrenia in Katsina, Nigeria

Objective: Caring for patients’ with schizophrenia leads to an enormous burden on the caregivers. However, the magnitude of this problem remains largely unknown in Sub-Saharan Africa. The objective of this study was to determine the burden of care giving among relatives of patients with schizophrenia.Materials and method: A total of 129 primary care-givers of patients with schizophrenia attending out-patient clinic of Katsina state Psychiatric Hospital were interviewed using a socio-demographic data collection sheet and Zarith Burden Interview (ZBI). Data obtained was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 13. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 45.07±8.91. Majority of the caregivers are females. High level of burden was found in 47.3% of the respondents. The level of burden experienced was significantly associated with place of residence and family size. Conclusion: Schizophrenia is associated with high level of caregiver burden and effort should be made at alleviating this burden for better out come in both the patients and caregivers.