Family caregivers' lived experiences of violence at the hands of their mentally ill relatives in Swaziland

M.Cur.The researcher observed that many mentally ill people who receive inpatient treatment at the only psychiatric hospital in Swaziland were not visited by their relatives. The researcher explored the lived experiences of family caregivers of mentally ill people who acted violently prior to admission to the hospital. Research recognises that mentally ill people may act violently prior to admission; violence caused by people suffering from mental illness affects the family caregivers. This violence contributed to the mental instability of family caregivers. Research conducted in many countries bears witness to this. No study has been conducted in Swaziland about the experiences of family caregivers of patients suffering from mental illness who experienced violence at the hands of their mentally ill relatives. The overall purpose of this study was to explore and describe the lived experiences of caregivers of relatives who suffer from mental illness who presented with violent behaviour in families, and to formulate guidelines that can be used to promote the mental health of caregivers of mentally ill patients who act violently. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual research design was used. The research was done in two phases. In phase one, family caregivers' lived experiences of violence at the hands their relatives who suffer from mental illness were explored. A phenomelogical method was followed for exploring and describing the lived experiences of family caregivers of mentally ill people who sometimes act violently. A purposeful sample of family caregivers of patients who suffer from mental illness who presented with violence prior to admission was included in this study; six family caregivers were purposively selected. Semi-structured phenomenological interviews were conducted until data saturation was reached. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Field notes concerning the impressions, perceptions and observations of the researcher were annotated directly after each interview and served to supplement the transcriptions