Family experience with caregiving to mental patients: A comparative study of rural and urban communities in Perak and Kedah, Malaysia

Caregiving for a mental patient is not easy to say the least and requires support from the family to carry out this responsibility at home. A comparative study was conducted in Malaysia’s urban and rural communities to examine the family caregivers’ experiences of care giving to a mentally ill person. A total of 154 family caregivers were recruited in this study and given a survey form on Experience of Caregiving Inventory (ECI). Caregivers were parents, siblings, spouses of schizophrenic patients who had experienced of community mental care services in the community clinic.The results showed that the majority of family caregivers were Malay women who were married, mostly with primary school education, and unemployed. The ECI’s scores indicated that caregivers in the urban area had more positive experiences in their caregiving roles for mental patients at their homes. In contrast , caregivers in the rural area had undergone more negative experiences in their caregiving roles mainly because of social stigma, patient’s negative symptoms and the effects of caregiving on other family members. The Malaysian government and NGOs need to improve their mental health services in rural areas so that all caregivers have access to social support in taking care of mental patients at their homes.