S evere acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is caused by a novel coronavirus (1) and has placed extraordinary demands upon health care systems worldwide. Unlike previous public health challenges, health care workers (HCWs) comprised a high proportion of the nearly 8000 infected persons across 29 countries: the percentage of infected HCWs ranged from 3% in the US, where most cases originated from international air travel (2), to as high as 22% in Hong Kong (3), 33% in Taiwan (4), and 51% in Toronto (5), with a mortality rate of 15% (6). Since early SARS resembles influenza (7), widespread avoidance of crowded places occurred in Hong Kong. HCWs were rapidly deployed to SARS wards. A qualitative study of 11

Background/Aim Families, especially in Chinese society, play a crucial role in care provision for relatives with schizophrenia, but the burden of caregiving has shown to cause significant distress among caregivers. The aim of the study is to assess the degree of stress and burden among caregivers of relatives with schizophrenia and early psychosis in Hong Kong. Methods A cross‐sectional survey was conducted in 454 caregivers recruited from two mental health non‐governmental organisations and the outpatient clinic of a psychiatric hospital. Data were collected through a questionnaire administered via face‐to‐face or telephone interview. Results Caregivers attributed most of their conflicts with the ill relative or other family members to their own lack of knowledge of patient symptoms (56.4%), other family members’ lack of knowledge of patient symptoms (46.9%) or the ill relative's refusal to take medications (43.0%). Most of the caregivers had corresponding stress scores of 5 (scale: 1–5; mean = 3.88, 3.85 and 4.19, respectively). Nearly, a third (30.2%) of the caregivers surveyed reported an overall stress score of 5 (mean = 3.56). Regarding psychosocial problems, 78.0%, 49.8% and 45.8% of caregivers experienced anxiety, reduced socialising and insomnia, respectively. Conclusions Caregivers of relatives with schizophrenia and early psychosis experience significant stress and psychosocial burden. To help them cope with distress, community support services should be strengthened. Moreover, long‐acting injectable antipsychotics are worth considering to alleviate caregiver burden due to ill relatives’ medication compliance issues.

Specific structural abnormalities in depression are associated with their attention biases towards mood-congruent information.