Omani Families Caring for a Member with Mental Illness: A Descriptive Qualitative Study

The aim of this qualitative descriptive study was to gain an in depth understanding and knowledge regarding how Omani families care for a member with mental illness including how they supported the later in self-care activities. Data was collected from participants using a purposive sample consisting of ten family caregivers whose member was in Sultan Qaboos University Hospital in Muscat. Each caregiver participated in one semi-structured interview. The interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The findings included two major themes: The first theme was "caring and empowering with empathy, love, and understanding." The second theme was "self-denial and giving without limitations." In conclusion, Omani family caregivers for a mentally ill family member provided optimum level of care to help and empower their family members to manage the mental illness. However, in so doing, those caregivers denied and neglected themselves for taking care of their mentally ill members. Several appropriate clinical interventions and policies are needed to support those family caregivers, to create a situation recently referred to as becoming "care partners."