A little knowledge: Caregiver burden in schizophrenia in Malawi

Objective To determine the relationship between schizophrenia knowledge and burden of care among caregivers of people with schizophrenia in Mzuzu, Malawi. Method We recruited 90 patients and 90 caregivers to a randomized, controlled trial of group caregiver education in schizophrenia. At baseline, we administered the Family Questionnaire, which measures caregivers’ knowledge of biomedical and psychosocial aspects of schizophrenia. We measured caregiver burden with the Involvement Evaluation Questionnaire. Using multivariate analysis, we examined the relationship between knowledge and burden, controlling for other patient and caregiver variables. We hypothesised that knowledge and burden would be inversely related. Results Caregiver burden was associated with knowledge (p = 0.001), but contrary to our hypothesis, greater knowledge was associated with greater burden. Conclusion In this population, knowledge about schizophrenia was associated with higher caregiver burden. This does not prove that knowledge causes burden, but suggests that cultural factors may mediate the relationship between knowledge and burden, and that care is needed when introducing caregiver education in new cultures.