Electronic Physician (ISSN: 2008-5842) http://www.ephysician.ir March 2018, Volume: 10, Issue: 3, Pages: 6516-6526, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.19082/6516 Corresponding author: Professor Dr. Seyed Ali Hosseini, Department of Occupational Therapy, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Tel: +98.2122180037, Email: alihosse@gmail.com Received: August 09, 2017, Accepted: September 20, 2017, Published: March 2018 iThenticate screening: September 03, 2017, English editing: February 12, 2018, Quality control: February 15, 2018 This article has been reviewed / commented by five experts © 2018 The Authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. Page 6516 Perception of family caregivers about barriers of leisure in care of individuals with chronic psychiatric disorders: a qualitative study Batool Mandani 1 , Seyed Ali Hosseini 2 , Mohammad Ali Hosseini 3 , Ashraf Karbalaie Noori 4 , Mohammad Reza Khodaie Ardakani 5 1 Ph.D. Candidate of Occupational Therapy, Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2 Ph.D., Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran 3 Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Management, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran 4 Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran 5 MD., Psychiatrist, Professor, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran Type of article: Original Abstract Background: Family caregivers of individuals with chronic psychiatric disorders play an important role in the management of the patient’s conditions, which interferes with other activities of daily living, work, social and leisure activities. Objective: This study was conducted in an Iranian context to explore the perception of family caregivers about barriers of leisure in care of individuals with chronic psychiatric disorders. Methods: The current qualitative study was conducted on the basis of conventional content analysis. Participants were 15 family caregivers of individuals with chronic psychiatric disorders who were selected by Purposeful sampling method between July 2016 and March 2017 in Tehran, Iran. The data was collected via in-depth semi- structured interviews. The interviews were tape recorded, written and transcribed. Then, data were analyzed by inductive content analysis method. Results: Data analysis led to extraction of 3 main categories and 10 sub categories. Obstacles to leisure-time of family caregivers have been placed in three main categories which are patient-related factors (Resentment from psychological problems, Resentment from behavioral problems, Need for continuous monitoring and access), caregiver-related factors (Physical harm, Psychosocial harm, Temporal stress, Accumulation of responsibilities, Concerns), and community-related factors (Feeling of sympathy and rejection, Social stigma). Conclusion: Understanding the barriers of leisure in this group of family caregivers has contributed to understanding the family caregivers' perception in this area and regarding their leisure, it can provide a broader perspective to mental health therapists, rehabilitation managers and policy makers for understanding the needs, addressing the challenges and barriers of this group of family caregivers. Keywords: Leisure, Family caregivers, Chronic psychiatric disorders, Qualitative study, Barrier