Economic Burden Of Caregiving For Schizophrenic Patients At Outpatient Department Of Pantang Hospital

ABSTRACT Background Schizophrenia is a challenging disorder that makes it difficult for one to distinguish between what is real and unreal, think clearly, manage emotions, relate to others, and function normally. This study aims at examining the economic burden of care giving for schizophrenic patients at the Pantang hospital to help provide credible and essential information that can assist in policy making. The study has its objectives as to estimate the direct cost of caregiving, estimate the indirect cost of caregiving and to determine the intangible cost of caregiving. Methods The study adopted the cross-sectional survey and the cost analytic approach to generalize the research results and draw conclusions. The population for this study comprised of the caregivers of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia at the Pantang hospital. Thus, a sample size of 110 respondents were selected for this study using the purposive sampling method. A questionnaire and the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) were the tools that were employed by this study. Data was analysed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS. Direct cost was estimated from treatment related cost and non-treatment related cost such as cost of drug and travel cost respectively for the last review. Indirect cost was estimated by valuing productivity losses to caregivers for period of one month. To describe the intangible cost the short form of ZBI which has twelve negative framed questions each with a five point likert response from 0(never) to 4(nearly always) was adopted.  Results The total cost for caregiving of schizophrenic patients estimated was GHS20, 874.80(USD 4,744.28), with direct cost and indirect cost constituting 86% and 14% respectively. Total direct treatment related cost was estimated GHS11,255.00 (USD2557.9517) and non-treatment related cost was GHS6,639.80 (USD1509.05) whereas estimated indirect cost for the employed was GHS2980.00(USD 677.28) and that of the student/apprentice and unemployed were not valued because they have no market price. Intangible cost was high as for caregivers as they represented 55%. Conclusion Cost of caregiving for schizophrenic patients per month is huge and this cannot be overlooked. Even though this study is limited to a single facility and hence cannot be generalized to the entire population, it provides useful information for similar populations (i.e. caregivers of persons with mental conditions). Therefore there is a need for further studies in economic burden for caregiver across the country to help make a better generalization of results.