Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38879785›Full record

ArticleHealth expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy2024

The Lived Experience of Informal Caregivers of People Who Have Severe Mental Illness and Coexisting Long-Term Conditions: A Qualitative Study.

C Carswell, J V E Brown, D Shiers, R Ajjan, A Balogun-Katung, S Bellass, R I G Holt, R Jacobs, I Kellar, C Lewisohn and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Beyond 'The Squeaky Wheel': The Passion, Precarity and Potential of the Family/Carer Lived Experience Workforce in the Queensland Mental Health System.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

C CarswellDepartment of Health Sciences, University of York, York, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-3781-3286
J V E BrownDepartment of Health Sciences, University of York, York, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-0943-5177
D ShiersPsychosis Research Unit, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Trust, Manchester, UK.
R AjjanClinical and Population Sciences Department, Leeds Institute for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-1636-3725
A Balogun-KatungPopulation Health Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK.
S BellassDepartment of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-9383-4116
R I G HoltHuman Development and Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-8911-6744
R JacobsCentre for Health Economics, University of York, York, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-5225-6321
I KellarDepartment of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-1608-5216
C LewisohnDIAMONDS Voice, DIAMONDS Programme Patient and Public Involvement Panel, York, UK.
J ListerDepartment of Health Sciences, University of York, York, UK.
N SiddiqiDepartment of Health Sciences, University of York, York, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-1794-2152
I SidorovaDIAMONDS Voice, DIAMONDS Programme Patient and Public Involvement Panel, York, UK.
P CoventryDepartment of Health Sciences, University of York, York, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-0625-3829

Funding

This paper reports work undertaken as part of the DIAMONDS programme, which is funded by the National Institute for Health Research under its Programme Grants for Applied Research (project number RP-PG-1016-20003).
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPeople with severe mental illness (SMI) experience higher rates and poorer outcomes of physical long-term conditions (LTCs). The management of SMI and LTCs is highly complex and many people with SMI rely on informal carers for support, which may lead to high levels of caregiver burden, and caregiver burnout. Caregiver burnout can result in poor health outcomes for informal carers and a reduction in the quality of care they are able to provide. Therefore, it is important to understand the caring experience to identify and address factors that contribute to burden and burnout.

methodsThis paper reports a secondary qualitative analysis of semistructured interviews and focus groups conducted with informal carers of people who have coexisting SMI and LTCs. We recruited 12 informal carers in England between December 2018 and April 2019. The transcripts were coded and analysed thematically.

resultsWe identified two overarching themes and five subthemes. The themes included 'Fighting on all fronts: Mounting strain between demands and resources', which described the challenge of providing care in the context of coexisting SMI and LTCs, and 'Safekeeping: The necessity of chronic hypervigilance', which captured how informal carers' roles were defined by managing high-risk situations, leading to hypervigilance and paternalistic approaches to care.

conclusionThe experience of informal carers for people with SMI and coexisting LTCs is marked by limited access to support and the management of significant risk, which could contribute to high caregiver burden. Further primary research is needed to understand how the experiences of the caregiver role for people with SMI and LTCs influence caregiver burden. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Our PPI panel DIAMONDS Voice provided guidance on this study from conception, design and development of interview guides and recruitment materials to final write-up. DIAMONDS Voice consists of service users and carers who have experience of SMI and LTCs. Three carer members reviewed the final manuscript, and two are credited as authors.

Indexed as

CaregiversMental DisordersQualitative ResearchAdultAgedChronic DiseaseEnglandFemaleFocus GroupsHumansInterviews as TopicMaleMiddle Agedcaregiver burdeninformal caregiverslong‐term conditionsqualitativesevere mental illness

Identifiers

PMID38879785
PMCPMC11180294

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.