Understanding the burden of mental and physical health disorders on families: findings from the Saudi National Mental Health Survey.

OBJECTIVE: To assess prevalence and correlation of factors of family burden associated with mental and physical disorders in the general population of Saudi Arabia.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A secondary analysis of data from the Saudi National Mental Health Survey (SNMHS).

OUTCOME MEASURES: Mental and physical health disorders of first-degree relatives and objective (time, financial) and subjective (distress, embarrassment) family burden.

RESULTS: We found significant caregiver burden for family members with mental health disorders. Around one-third of the sample was providing care for a family member with a health issue. Within this group, 40% had a mental health diagnosis. 73% of the study population reported experiencing some form of burden as a result of the care they are obligated to provide for their family members. We found the highest burden on male caregivers, in providing care for family members with serious memory disorders, mental retardation, schizophrenia or psychosis, followed by, alcohol and drug disorders, anxiety, depression or manic depression.

CONCLUSION: Our findings for family burden were statistically significant, indicating potential negative impact on caregiver coping ability with the demands of caring for family members with health issues. A comprehensive review of national mental health policies is required to integrate aspects of community mental health promotion, scale-up prevention, screening interventions and social support to protect against the difficulties of mental illness and reduce the burden on caregivers, the family, society, health system and the economy.