Introduction:

Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder that significantly affects the quality of life (QoL) of individuals and their informal caregivers, who are usually close family members. These caregivers face substantial emotional, physical, and financial burdens, often worsened by the lack of formal support and the stigma associated with the illness. Assessing caregivers’ QoL is essential to understanding the impact of their role and to designing effective interventions.

Aim:

This study aimed to map the existing literature on QoL assessment tools for informal caregivers of people with schizophrenia.

Method:

A scoping review was conducted following the methodology of the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) and the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. The search was carried out in the CINAHL® Complete and MEDLINE Complete databases via EBSCOhost, as well as in the Scientific Open Access Repository of Portugal. Quantitative studies with experimental or epidemiological designs, as well as systematic reviews and meta-analyses that employed QoL assessment tools for informal caregivers, were included.

Results:

After screening, 14 studies were included in the final analysis. The most frequently used tools were the WHOQOL-BREF and the SF-12, which assess general QoL dimensions such as physical health, psychological well-being, and social relationships. However, they do not address the specificities of the informal caregiver role. Specific instruments such as the SCQ (Schizophrenia Caregiver Questionnaire) and the S-CGQoL (Schizophrenia Caregiver Quality of Life questionnaire) showed greater sensitivity to factors like emotional burden and social impact but are rarely applied and lack cultural adaptation to the Portuguese context.

Conclusions:

The findings highlight the need for psychosocial support and targeted measures for caregivers.

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