Background
schizophrenia [Mental illness, PLWS, psychiatric, Schizophrenia, schizophrenia, hopefulness
DISORDER, SECONDARY
Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder that affects 21 million people worldwide [In low- and middle-income countries like Tanzania and high-income countries like the United States, there are high rates of relapse and rehospitalizations for schizophrenia, highlighting the urgent need for accessible, recovery-oriented care globally [Existing evidence indicates that families are important for influencing clinical and social outcomes of their relatives living with schizophrenia [Hope may be an important construct in recovery-oriented care of schizophrenia because it facilitates agency, self-efficacy, and pathways to healthier lives [Hope goes beyond optimism and has been defined several ways across different disciplines [Hope can have positive impacts on both patient and caregiver populations. Hopefulness positively influences clinical and psychosocial outcomes, as made evident in several studies with varying chronic indications [There is limited quantitative evidence available on the role of hopefulness in improving the mental health of PLWS as well as their caregivers. Most of the existing literature is set in high-income countries, is qualitative, and/or focuses solely on the individuals living with schizophrenia [Mental illness does not occur in a vacuum and is instead often experienced within the context of one’s family, which may be even more critical to consider in more collectivist cultures [The aims for this secondary analysis paper were 1) To identify the sociodemographic and illness-related correlates that may be associated with hopefulness separately for PLWS and their caregivers, and 2) To explore the dyadic relationship of hopefulness among PLWS and their caregivers in Tanzania.