Perceived stigma among non-professional caregivers of people with severe mental illness, Bahir Dar, northwest Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: The stigmatization of mental illness is currently considered to be one of the most important issues facing caregivers of severely mentally ill individuals. There is a dearth of information about the prevalence and associated factors of perceived stigma among caregivers of people with severe mental illness in the study area. OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence and associated factors of perceived stigma among non-professional caregivers of people with severe mental illness, Bahir Dar, northwest Ethiopia. METHOD: Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted from May to June, 2016 at Felege Hiwot Referral Hospital among 495 caregivers of people with the severe mental illness. Pre-tested structured family interview schedule questionnaire was used. Binary logistic regression was applied to identify factors associated with perceived stigma and interpreted using odds ratio with 95% confidence interval. Statistical significance was considered at p value < 0.05. RESULT: The overall prevalence of perceived stigma was found to be 89.3%. Being female, rural residency, lack of social support, long duration of relationship with the patient and currently not married were found significantly associated with the perceived stigma of caregivers. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of perceived stigma is very high in the current study. Thus, stigma reduction program and expanding of strong social support should better be implemented by different stakeholders for caregivers of people with severe mental illness.