About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

LOG IN
LOG IN


62 Int'l Soc. Work 461 (2019)
The Mentally Ill and Their Impact on Family Caregivers: A Qualitative Case Study

handle is hein.journals/intsocwk62 and id is 460 raw text is: Article International Social Work 2019, Vol. 62(l) 461-471 @ The Author(s) 2017 Article reuse guidelines: on family caregivers: A qualitativeagepub.com/journals-perissions DOl: 10.1 177/0020872817731 146 case journals.sagepub.com/home/isw sSAGE Azlinda Azman Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia Paramjit Singh jamir Singh Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia jamalludin Sulaiman Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia Abstract The impact of mental illness is profound. This qualitative study aims to explore the impact experienced by family caregivers who provide care to relatives with mental illness. A total of I5 family caregivers from the state of Kedah in Malaysia participated in this study. The findings indicated that the family caregivers experienced four types of negative impact, including financial burdens and social, psychological and physical health. This study suggests that the family caregivers should engage in support groups to obtain emotional support and the required information from other caregivers who have similar experiences in caring for individuals with mental illness. Keywords Caregivers, family caregivers, impacts, individuals with mental illness, mental illness Introduction Mental illness is defined as a condition in which a person has a change in thinking, mood or behav- iour often as a result of stress (Stewart, 2002). Mental illness is a general term for mental disorders that are caused by brain dysfunction and result in mild to severe disturbance in the individual's thinking, perception and behaviour (Staff, 2012). The Malaysian Mental Health Act 2001 (Act 615) describes mental illness as being caused by interference or obstacles to developing the mind, a psychiatric disorder or any other disorder that causes an inability of the mind to function nor- mally (Ministry of Health Malaysia, 2001). Corresponding author: Azlinda Azman, Social Work Programme, School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang, Malaysia. Email: azlindaa@usm.my