Burden of caregiving, social support and quality of life of informal caregivers of patients with cerebral palsy

The quality of life of primary caretakers of children with cerebral palsy

Background

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a heterogeneous group of disorder affecting the development of movement and posture, which is permanent nonprogressive. Previous studies in different regions have shown links between caregivers' mental health and children's well-being. However, the lack of such detailed research for the caretakers of children with CP and correlation of quality of life affected the type and severity of the condition; this necessitates the development of a new study to assess caregivers' quality of life.

Aim

Quality of life among caregivers of disabled children is an important concern in healthcare. We aim to evaluate the quality of life among caregivers of children with CP and to assess the factors affecting the caregivers' quality of life, namely, age, gender, type, and gross motor function in children with CP.

Methodology

This was a cross-sectional observational study, conducted over a period of 6 months. It included the caregivers of children with CP at a tertiary care hospital of Mumbai. Data were collected using the WHO BREF questionnaire. The children were divided into two groups (2 to 7 years and 7 to 12 years). The qualities of life of the caretakers of these two groups were compared in four domains, namely, physical, psychological, social, and environmental.

Results

The study included 50 participants. Mothers (80%) and fathers (10%) were the primary caregivers. Caretakers of the children with cerebral palsy showed significant affected quality of life as calculated from WHO QOL BREF score in both age groups (2-7 and 7-12 years) and in all domains. Overall, the most affected domain in our study was of psychological health and the least affected domain was of the environmental domain.

Conclusion

This study provides a snapshot of the impact of having a child with cerebral palsy on the lives of the caregivers Most of the caregivers in the study were mothers, and quality of life was affected in all domains mainly in psychological and physical domains. The study showed that there is a need for interventions in caregivers which can have an indirect impact on the children with CP.

Experiences of quality of life and access to health services among rare disease caregivers: a scoping review

BACKGROUND

Research on rare diseases focuses less on caregivers, who play an important role in meeting the medical and social needs of the people they care for. Caregivers of people with rare diseases face negative outcomes due to problems with diagnosis, caring for complex conditions and expensive treatments. However, the factors that affect their quality of life are poorly understood. Poor mental and physical health of caregivers has a direct impact on the person they are caring for.

METHODS

To explore the literature on this topic, we conducted a scoping review in which we identified and analysed relevant studies to find out how extensively this topic has been researched. The articles were retrieved from the bibliographic databases PubMed, Ovid Medline and Ebsco Cinahl.

RESULTS

We initially identified 299 references and then included thirty-four articles. The included articles address three main topics, namely caregiver quality of life, health care accessibility, and the impact of health care accessibility on caregiver QOL.

CONCLUSION

This study provides information that is important to multiple providers of services as it can help to better understand caregivers and people with rare diseases and improve the quality of services offered. It highlights areas with the greatest need for change and offers insight into the complexity of caring for people with rare diseases, assisting policymakers in developing policies to support informal caregivers.

Care burden, perceived social support, coping attitudes and life satisfaction of mothers with children with cerebral palsy

AIM

This study's aim is to determine the relationship between care burden, perceived social support, coping attitudes and life satisfaction of mothers with children with cerebral palsy (CP).

METHODS

This descriptive study was conducted in Turkey between March and June 2022 to determine the relationship between caregiving burden, perceived social support, coping attitudes and life satisfaction of 122 mothers with CP children. Path analysis was used to evaluate the data.

RESULTS

Correlation analysis showed a positive relationship between mothers' social support perceptions and life satisfaction and coping attitudes, a positive relationship between their life satisfaction and coping attitudes (p < .001). The path analysis showed that the social support perceived by the mothers significantly affected their coping attitudes (β = .257; p < .001) and life satisfaction (β = .081; p < .001). Mothers' care burden (β = .169; p < .001) and coping attitudes (β = .071; p < .05) also had a significant effect on their life satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS

It is an important finding of this study that mothers' perceptions of social support and coping attitudes have a positive effect on their life satisfaction. Long-term care can cause physical and psychological problems for mothers. Mothers' strong coping strategies and high levels of social support may reduce the occurrence of these problems. Drawing attention to this issue in mothers and revealing the effects of these variables is important in terms of indirectly supporting child outcomes.

Well-being focused interventions for caregivers of children with developmental disabilities: a scoping review protocol

INTRODUCTION

Children with developmental disability (DD) may depend on their family caregivers to fulfil their complex health needs. Family caregivers are generally described as persons providing unpaid for services for the child with DD at home who need to be supported in a manner that supports and promotes his/her well-being. This review aims to identify and map the range of interventions available for caregivers of children between the ages of 5-16 with DD.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

The methodological framework for conducting scoping review as published by Arksey and O'Malley and the Joanna Briggs Institute's guidelines will used in this study. Primary research articles will be obtained through a systematic search of CINAHL, Psych INFO, PubMed, ERIC and COCHRANE Library. Further grey literature will be obtained from Google Scholar search. Study selection process will be done by two independent researchers based on a predetermined inclusion criteria. Review findings comprising interventions, intervention components and outcomes will be presented using tables and narrative text.

DISCUSSION

The proposed scoping review will give an extensive review of interventions aimed at improving the well-being of caregivers of children with DD. This scoping review would provide recommendations on interventions that have significantly improved the well-being caregivers of children with DD. Additionally, the review would guide future work on intervention development and primary research in this field.

REGISTRATION

This scoping review protocol has been registered with the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/tkbrh).

Coping with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome: quality of life and psychosocial features of family carers

BACKGROUND

Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome (WHS) is a rare, congenital disease characterized by a distinctive facial phenotype, seizures, intellectual disability and developmental delay, and pre and postnatal growth requiring lifelong care. The psychosocial status of the family caregivers of children diagnosed with WHS is unknown. This study aims to characterize the sociodemographic and psychosocial profile of WHS caregivers and analyze how these variables impact their quality of life (QoL) and well-being.

RESULTS

The sociodemographic and clinical profile of 22 Spanish caregivers of children with WHS and the characteristics of those affected have been described. Significant relationships were found between sociodemographic and psychosocial characteristics among caregivers. The impact on the parents' QoL and negative relationship with the symptomatology were assessed. The use of engagement strategies such as problem focused coping was associated with improved psychological QoL and social support.

CONCLUSIONS

WHS caregivers share similarities in their profile and needs with caregivers of children with other rare diseases. Pychosocial support groups involving parents caring for children with the same disease could improve caregivers' well-being and QoL by strengthening their social support network and using positive coping styles.

Perceived needs of patients and family caregivers regarding home-based enteral nutritional therapy in South Africa: A qualitative study

INTRODUCTION

The need for specialized care, particularly enteral nutritional therapy in community settings is now increasing with implications for both patients and primary care providers. More research is needed to identify the needs of patients and primary caregivers. The study aimed to explore the perceived support needs regarding the provision of home-based enteral nutritional therapy among critically ill adult patients and family caregivers in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa.

METHODS

A qualitative study of purposely selected adult patients on homebased enteral nutritional therapy and family caregivers was conducted in a district hospital, a community health centre, two primary health care clinics and selected households in the KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted between June and September 2018 and the content analysis approach was used to analyse data.

RESULTS

Two major themes and five subthemes emerged from the results of the interviews. The major themes concerned socioeconomic and psychosocial support needs related to the provision of home-based enteral nutritional therapy. Subthemes included the need for financial assistance, need for enteral nutrition products and supplementary supplies, need for infrastructure for continuity of care, and psychological support needs.

CONCLUSION

Results of this study confirm the need for developing strategies adapted to a South African context and yonder to meet patients' and family caregivers' needs with regard to nutritional services. More research on the identification of needs through monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of nutritional guidelines is needed, particularly in the district hospital and primary health care (PHC) setting.