Forms of social support received by family caregivers of patients with schizophrenia in Sub-Saharan African urban settings: an integrative review of literature

An integrative review was conducted to identify and describe forms of social support received by family caregivers of patients with schizophrenia in Sub-Saharan African urban settings. Sub-Saharan African region comprises of 49 countries and covers the area of the African continent that lies south of the Sahara. A search was performed in data bases of PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL, and resulted in a total of 1,155 articles which were screened for inclusion, and 20 articles remained for review. Findings revealed that family caregivers received social support of different forms with emotional social support being the most frequently received. Findings provide essential insights that can be used by mental health practitioners and policy makers for strengthening social support networks for family caregivers in urban settings.