RESUMO
PURPOSE: Caregiver burden is a variable which measures the impact of a chronic disease on the people who are closer to the patient. Different investigations have shown that the burden suffered by family members of patients with bipolar disorder is similar to that suffered by the relatives of schizophrenic patients and superior to the excessive strain caused by chronic diseases, such as diabetes. Lowering burden levels has been proved to improve family members' welfare and also to reduce patients' relapse indexes. This research accounts for the diminution in the burden endured by family members who participated in a psychoeducational workshop which included an "expert patient" in the coordinators team. METHODS: Zarit scale for assessment of caregiver burden was used at three stages: at the beginning of the workshop (n=95), at the end of the workshop (n=64) and three months later by a follow-up (n=34). RESULTS: The percentage of participants with overburden was reduced from a 75 % in the first sample taken to a 63% in the last one with a significant fall in the intense burden. CONCLUSIONS: The study has succeeded in showing that there was a reduction in the burden. However, it could not prove whether the results came as a consequence of the intervention model or as the natural evolution of the burden over the course of time. We have been advancing in further investigations which will shed light on these variables.
