Determining the level of mental distress among caregivers of patients withepileps

Background / objective: Caregivers play an important role in the management of epilepsy in the community. Caring for patients with epilepsy can cause emotional distress in caregivers. This study investigated the effect of demographic characteristics and dimensions of mental distress among family caregivers of epilepsy patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of mental distress in those who care for patients with epilepsy. Method: A total of 100 caregivers of patients with epilepsy in the Specialist Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases at Diwaniyah Teaching Hospital were included. Non-probability sampling was performed. Data were collected from 10/5/2020 to 10/11/2020. Data in the study were collected with an information form and the General Health Questionnaire (GSQ). The data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel version 2010 and SPSS version 20. Statistical significance was set at 5% level of probability. Results: The caregivers consisted of 100 people comprising 48.0% females and 52.0% males. Patient caregivers had mean total GSQ-28 points of 11.36 ±2.505. The mean scale points were high by a statistically significant degree for patient caregivers with young age, high educational level, inadequate income level, those living in rural areas and who were parents of the patient (p<0.05). Conclusion: Emotional distress was present among caregivers for patients with epilepsy and the need for attention to improve the psychological care factors of the caregivers is noted. Key words: Caregivers, epilepsy, general health, mental distress