Psychotic illness can have a substantial economic burden not only on the patient and society in general, but also on family members providing informal care (i.e. those not subject to a market wage). While informal caregiving confers benefits for the patient and society, time spent providing informal care is diverted from other activities such as work or leisure. Relatives and caregivers experience burden both on a practical and an emotional level. Informal caregiving has often gone unrecognised in public policy discussions about the financing and costs of health care.

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