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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

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