Quality of life among caregivers of patients with mental disorders attending a tertiary care hospital
Keywords:
Caregivers, Mental disorders, WHOQOL-BREF, Social supportAbstract
Caregivers of individuals with mental disorders often experience substantial physical, psychological, social, and environmental strain, leading to impaired quality of life (QOL). Evidence from Bangladesh remains limited. This study aimed to assess QOL among caregivers of patients with mental disorders and compare their WHOQOL-BREF scores with those of a hospital-based healthy reference group, while examining selected sociodemographic and clinical correlates of caregiver well-being. This cross-sectional comparative study was conducted at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka. A total of 50 caregivers of patients diagnosed with mental disorders according to DSM-5 criteria and 50 healthy hospital based participants were interviewed using a structured sociodemographic questionnaire and the WHOQOL-BREF. Descriptive statistics, independent-sample t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson correlation were used for analysis; because WHOQOL-BREF domain scores are continuous summary measures, parametric analyses were applied and interpreted cautiously, particularly in small subgroups. Caregivers had significantly lower overall QOL and overall health scores than the reference group, along with significantly lower physical, psychological, social relationship, and environmental domain scores. Within the caregiver group, older age was associated with lower physical, psychological, and environmental scores, while female caregivers had lower physical, psychological, and environmental scores than males. Education showed a significant association only with the environmental domain; illness duration was significant only for physical health, and hospitalisation frequency only for psychological health. Caregivers who reported societal support had significantly better scores across all four WHOQOLBREF domains. Caregivers of patients with mental disorders experience marked multidimensional QOL impairment. Social support appears to be an important protective factor. However, comparative findings should be interpreted cautiously because the hospital based reference group was not fully comparable to caregivers on several sociodemographic characteristics.
Bang J Psychiatry 2025;39(1): 15-23
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