title: Burden on caregivers of people with schizophrenia: comparison between Germany and Britain.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Burden on the relatives of patients with schizophrenia may be influenced not only by patient and caregiver characteristics, but also by differences in mental health service provision.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To analyse whether family burden is affected by national differences in the provision of mental health services.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with schizophrenia and their key relatives were examined in Germany (n=333) and Britain (n=170). Differences in family burden in both countries were analysed with regression models controlling for patient and caregiver characteristics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Family burden was associated with patients'symptoms, male gender, unemployment and marital status, as well as caregivers'coping abilities, patient contact and being a patient's parent. However, even when these attributes were controlled for, British caregivers reported more burden than German caregivers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  National differences in family burden may be related to different healthcare systems in Germany and Britain. Support for patients with schizophrenia may be shifted from the professional to the informal healthcare sector more in Britain than in Germany.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany. christiane.roick@medizin.uni-leipzig.de
authors.forename: Christiane
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roick
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Heider
authors.forename: Paul E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Bebbington
authors.forename: Matthias C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Angermeyer
authors.forename: Jean-Michel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Azorin
authors.forename: Traolach S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Brugha
authors.forename: Reinhold
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kilian
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Mondher
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Toumi
authors.forename: Asa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kornfeld
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017028:Caregivers; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000628:therapy*; D014478:Unemployment; D006113:United Kingdom