Two issues related to the family burden of the severely mentally ill have not yet been adequately addressed in the literature. One issue is the extent to which burden is increased when the mentally ill member lives with the family, or conversely, the extent to which relocation in other residential settings reduces family burden. The second issue concerns the extent to which the provision of care in a coordinated, continuous, and timely manner benefits the family as well as the mentally ill member. Working contractually with the Institute for Survey Research in Philadelphia, we propose to collect family burden data in three Ohio cities participating in the Robert Wood Johnson Program for the Chronically Mentally Ill, and then to link these data with continuity of care data to be collected concurrently by a team of researchers from the University of Maryland Medical School. The sample will be stratified by residence in order to provide approximately equal representation of clients living with family members and those living in non-familial residences. Burden will be assessed in face-to-face interviews with multiple family members, both in and out of the client residence. In order to explore the stability of these assessments, and to replicate the test of the main study hypotheses over time, two follow-up interviews will be conducted by telephone.
| Tessler, R C; Gamache, G M; Fisher, G A (1991) Patterns of contact of patients' families with mental health professionals and attitudes toward professionals. Hosp Community Psychiatry 42:929-35 |
