Stigma Experienced by the Caregivers of Patients with Chronic Plaque Psoriasis

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory dermatosis associated with psychological morbidity. Very few studies have evaluated stigma among caregivers of patients with psoriasis. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of stigma and its correlates among the caregivers of patients with psoriasis. METHODOLOGY: Forty-nine caregivers of patients with psoriasis were evaluated on psoriasis adapted version of caregiver of people with mental illness (CPMI) to assess internalized stigma, Explanatory Model Interview Catalogue Stigma Scale, Family Burden Inventory (FBI), Multidimensional aspect of perceived social support scale (PSS), Cognitive behavioral avoidance scale (CBAS), and Coping checklist. RESULTS: Majority of the caregivers were either spouse (42.8%) or parents (36.7%) of the patients. The caregivers were involved in the care of the patients for a mean duration of 6.5(SD; 4.8) years. On CPMI, the mean score was highest for the affective domain (3.1), this was followed by affective (2.9), and behavioral (2.9) domain. Very few (12.2%) caregivers reported significantly high caregiver burden. A higher level of stigma was associated with more often use of avoidance coping. Presence of higher social support was associated with higher level of stigma as assessed by using CPMI. A higher level of caregiver burden in all the domains of FBI was associated with higher level of stigma. CONCLUSION: Stigma is highly prevalent among the caregivers of patients with psoriasis. These findings suggest that there is an urgent need to identify the stigma and address the same.