Attitude of schizophrenic patients' care givers about their method of patient caring ‎at home

Introduction: Schizophrenia is a type of psychosis which disturbs one's function through its &lrm;destructive effects on mind, behavior and personal interaction. More than &lrm;&rlm;70%&rlm;&lrm; of schizophrenic &lrm;patients are living with their families. Lack of correct cares of caregivers causes repeated and &lrm;decreases patient&rsquo;s physical and mental abilities. Studying the weal points of caregivers' attitudes &lrm;can provide the physical and spiritual comfort to patients.&lrm; Objective: This study aimed to determine the attitudes of care givers of schizophrenic patients &lrm;referring to Kerman Shahid Beheshti hospital regarding their method of caring for patient at home &lrm;in &lrm;&rlm;2005&rlm;&lrm;.&lrm; &nbsp;Methods: In this analytical and descriptive study, &lrm;&rlm;196&rlm;&lrm; care givers of schizophrenic patients were &lrm;selected by convenience sampling during a period of five months. For data gathering, a two-part &lrm;researcher- made demographic (patient and caregiver) questionnaire was used. Data were gathered &lrm;by structured interview and analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistic tests such as T-test &lrm;and One-way ANOVA.&lrm; Results: Findings showed mean score of caregivers' attitude was &lrm;&rlm;14&rlm;&lrm;.&lrm;&rlm;39&rlm;&lrm;(SD=&lrm;&rlm;1/8&rlm;&lrm;) which is a &lrm;moderate and positive attitude. There was a statistically significant relationship between mean score &lrm;of caregivers' attitude and patient employment (p<&lrm;&rlm;0&rlm;&lrm;.&lrm;&rlm;04&rlm;&lrm;) and level of education (p<&lrm;&rlm;0&rlm;&lrm;.&lrm;&rlm;001&rlm;&lrm;) and also &lrm;between mean score of caregivers' attitude with his job status (p<&lrm;&rlm;0&rlm;&lrm;.&lrm;&rlm;03&rlm;&lrm;), instruction history of &lrm;caregiver (p<&lrm;&rlm;0&rlm;&lrm;.&lrm;&rlm;01&rlm;&lrm;) and caregiver's economic status (p<&lrm;&rlm;0&rlm;&lrm;.&lrm;&rlm;001&rlm;&lrm;).&lrm; Conclusion: Based on moderate attitude of caregivers about method of caring, it can be said that &lrm;they have the motivation for proper care giving. Caregivers' attitude can be elevated through public &lrm;and family education regarding home care using public media and mass communication tools.&lrm;