Publication:

Suicide risk in caregivers of patients with schizophrenia

Background The high risk of suicide among schizophrenic and other severe mental illness patients has been of great concern. It is critical to find effective care interventions to mitigate suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms to enhance patient outcomes, especially when discharged.

Methods The study was a cross-sectional comparative study that involved a sample of 71 patients with schizophrenia, schizoaffective, or bipolar disorder. There were two groups of participants, namely home care (n=36) and usual outpatient care (n=35). A structured questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic and clinical data. The Beck scale of suicidal ideation and the Beck depression inventory (BDI) were used to measure suicidal ideation and depression, respectively. The statistical analysis was conducted using relevant parametric tests, with p<0.05 considered statistically significant.

Results Home care patients had much lower scores on suicidal ideation than patients who were under their regular outpatient care (0.94±4.24 vs. 3.83±5.44; p=0.016). Equally, depression scores were also low when compared with the usual care group (6.14±7.75 vs. 11.17±9.18; p=0.015). The groups did not differ significantly in baseline sociodemographic and clinical features.

Conclusions Suicidal ideation and depression are lower in the case of severely mentally ill patients with home care services. The introduction of structured home-based psychiatric care can be essential in the preventive strategies of suicide among patients with schizophrenia and associated disorders.