Anhörigas erfarenheter av att leva nära och vårda en person med schizofreni : En litteraturöversikt

Sammanfattning: Background: Schizophrenia is a disease that leads to many negative consequences for patients, but also their relatives. As schizophrenia is a disease with varying disease processes, relatives may need to support and care for the patient. Cooperation between healthcare and relatives is often common in the care of people with schizophrenia, which is why the nurse needs to have knowledge of relatives' experiences and what their needs are. Aim: The purpose was to describe relatives’ experiences of living close to and caring for a person with schizophrenia. Method: To answer the purpose a literature review was made. PubMed and Cinahl Complete were the databases that the authors chose to use when they searched for articles. The search resulted in ten qualitative articles which was analyzed and thematized.  Results: The ten articles from the result were divided into four themes; the dynamics within and outside the family, the relatives’ adjustments in life, emotional experiences and experiences of ill health of relatives and sources of support. The articles illuminated relatives’ experiences of living close to and caring for a person with schizophrenia.  Conclusion: Schizophrenia effects the lifeworld of relatives profoundly and constitutes a social, emotional and practical burden. Relatives are in need of support from the healthcare service. The nurse needs to have knowledge of how relatives of patients with schizophrenia may experience their situation in order to provide good treatment.