Dependency and its Role in the Need for Information Sharing for Caregivers of those with Serious Mental Illness

 From an Anonymous Family Member of FASMI
 

Many people who suffer from Serious Mental Illnesses (those with Schizophrenia and Psychosis) are dependent in a number of ways on their families and/or caregivers.
 

This dependency takes many forms – for living accommodations, finances, overseeing of medications, scheduling and getting to psychiatric and medical appointments, getting to hospital in a crisis, follow-up after a hospital stay, getting to psychosocial programs etc. 
 

There are also a number of different types of patients that are dependent on their families or caregivers – mature minors as well as those who have reached adulthood, for example. Many of those adult patients live and/or are dependent on their families and caregivers for much of their lives or their entire lives.
 

Those family/caregivers who care for dependent SMI sufferers have a deep need to both share and receive information with psychiatrists and other clinicians. Trying to care for a loved one with psychosis, for example, without giving and receiving adequate information is like trying to care for them with one hand proverbially tied behind their backs. 
 

In order to convince clinicians to share and receive information, it would be helpful to have solid research on the role and seriousness of dependency. For without their caregivers, they often end up living and dying on our streets.
 

A systemic literature review is recommended as follows:
 

1) The number and age of patients with SMI who are dependent on families/caregivers by living with them.

2) The number and age of patients with SMI who are dependent on families/caregivers financially.

3) The number an age of patients with SMI who are dependent on families/caregivers despite the fact they live separately.

4) The number and age of patients with SMI who are dependent on families/caregivers to oversee medications, scheduling and getting to psychiatric and medical appointments, getting to hospital in a crisis, follow-up after a hospital stay, etc.

5) The number and age of patients with SMI who are dependent on families/caregivers to set up and get to psychosocial supports
 

(If there is currently limited research in this area, qualitative research can help understand the area generally and the potential questions later for quantitative research).
 

Having research results in these areas will help families/caregivers convince clinicians of the need to give and receive the vital information families/caregivers need to care properly for their loved ones.