Objective:

To establish the occurrence of caregiver syndrome in caregivers of people with mental illness participating in the Day Hospital Program of a tertiary institution in the city of Cali.

Material and methods:

A descriptive, cross-sectional observational study was carried out to evaluate the occurrence of overload syndrome in 70 caregivers of people with mental illness, through interviews and the formal application of the Zarit scale and the WHO-DAS 2.0 questionnaire.

Results:

It was established that 68.6% of the participating population presented some level of overload. The caregiver profile corresponds to women, over the age of 55, who belonged to the subsidized health system; earning a low income, and with an average of 8 years in caregiver role for at least 12 hours per day. The long time dedicated to the role's activities and the level of demand resulting from the degree of disability of the person receiving care, appear as associated factors for the presence of higher levels of overload for the caregiver, for which they are a factor to consider when implementing interventions and research processes in which the caregiver is involved as a key agent for improving the quality of life of people with mental illness.

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