Buffering effects of social security benefits for persons with psychiatric disability on caregivers' burden and quality of life.

Abstract

Out-of-pocket mental health care expenditure has a catastrophic impact on the families living with severe mental illness, with high levels of burden and poor quality of life. The present study aims to understand the buffering effects of social security benefits for persons with psychiatric disability on caregivers' burden and quality of life. Two groups of caregivers of people with severe mental illnesses, those receiving disability benefits (n = 100) for the past 6 months and those who were not receiving any benefits (n = 72), were recruited from the out-patient follow-up services. Both the groups were assessed with the Burden Assessment Scale (BAS) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHO QoL-Bref). Those who were receiving the disability-related social benefits had reported better quality of life only in psychological and social domains. The maximum value of Pearson's correlation coefficient was observed between physical and psychological domains (r = 0.12; not significant), and the values did not change even after controlling for the social security status. The current study did not find full support for buffering effects of social security benefits on caregivers' quality of life. Thus, there is a need for a comprehensive plan for social security benefits, especially for persons with psychiatric disability, as caregivers are already experiencing high levels of financial stress.