Abstract

BACKGROUND: Schizophrenia is a debilitating mental illness that has a significant impact not only in the patient but also in the entire family as well. Caregivers assume almost the totality of the patient care. This responsibility exposes caregivers to an intense burden with negative consequences for them and the rest of the family system. This is an updated review of existing literature about burden on families with schizophrenia patients. METHOD: An electronic search of articles from MEDLINE, EMBASE, APA, EBSCO, and Cochrane databases was conducted for articles published between 2008 and 2013. RESULTS: A systematization of information and frequency analysis revealed the existence of eight factors related to burden that were present in almost all the reviewed literature: Programs of family treatment, Ethnic group, Expressed Emotion, Stress and Burden, Preoccupations of the caregiver, Kind of caregiver, Social networks, Social support, Finances and Coping Strategies. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the statements of different theories reflecting the complexity of schizophrenia caregivers' burden and these, in turn, may be related to the above factors.