Publication:

Assessment of mental health status among caregivers of persons with permanent disabilities attending rehabilitation centre in H. D. Kote taluk, Mysore district

Background People with disabilities have constant health needs for very long periods in their life. They may have limitations in the activities of daily living and communication abilities. Disability is highly demanding, requiring consistent care. The physical and psychological well-being of a caregiver is important for the well-being of the person receiving care. The objective of the study was to assess the mental health status of caregivers of persons with permanent disabilities.

Methods A hospital based cross sectional study was carried out from July 2014 to December 2014. 100 caregivers of cases registered under “Chaithanya Vahani” programme by SVYM Hospital were selected for study. GHQ-28 questionnaire was used to in the structured proforma to assess mental health status of caregivers.

Results Mean age was found to be 38.25 years with 87 (87%) females and 13 (13%) males. Mean GHQ-28 score was found to be 8.09 with a standard deviation of ±4.85 which is quite higher than the cut off value of 4. 76% of caregivers had a score higher than the mean score indicating mental stress. Social impairment domain of GHQ-28 was found to be significantly associated with gender (p=0.009), age (p=0.009) and duration of care (p=0.008). Anxiety domain was significantly associated with duration of care (p=0.033) and severe depression domain was found to be associated with marital status (p=0.003).

Conclusions Association between mental health status of caregivers and gender, age, marital status and duration of care giving was found to be statistically significant. Psychological counselling is to be done at regular intervals for caregivers to help them in overcoming stress, anxiety and depression. Screening of caregivers should be done at regular intervals to detect any kind of mental distress at the earliest.