Proches aidants en psychiatrie : quelle (in)adéquation entre besoins et offres de soutien ?

Introduction: Informal caregivers play a vital role in supporting people with severe mental illness. However, this role can leave informal caregivers with significant unmet needs. The aim of this qualitative study is to identify the extent to which the support offered to informal caregivers in adult psychiatry in French-speaking Switzerland meets their needs.

Method: Individual semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted with informal caregivers, mental health professionals, and service providers. The data were analyzed by theme.

Results: The need for assistance and the need for information are two themes identified as prevalent among informal caregivers. Despite a consensus on the need for more support and information, informal caregivers, service providers, and health professionals do not assign the same importance to specific aspects of these themes. Suggestions for improving practices at the institutional, socio-political, and civil-society levels are put forward. Given the diversity of viewpoints on the priority needs of informal caregivers, there is a risk of offering support that only partially corresponds to the difficulties encountered by informal caregivers.

Conclusions: Matching support and needs remains a major challenge. Agreeing on a consensual definition of support and information needs and proposing tailored approaches could make it possible to develop support services that meet the actual needs of informal caregivers.