The level of stress of caregivers of children with cerebral palsy
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Date
2018
Authors
Molokomme-Radebe, Mmathuto Mandy
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Abstract
Introduction: The knowledge concerning the level of stress that caregivers of children with cerebral palsy (CP) experience is very important to health care professionals caring for these children. It is knowledge that will alert the health care professionals on how to intervene in the management of parental stress and in return, will equip the caregivers of CP children with strength, resources and help provide them with the maximum care for their disabled children.
Aims and objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the amount of stress that primary caregivers experience from caring and raising their children with CP. The objective was to identify the socioeconomic factors leading to parental stress. The association between parental stress and the severity of the CP child’s motor function and their communication function disability were also assessed.
Methodology: A prospective, cross-sectional, descriptive study of primary caregivers of CP children between ages of 1 to 14 years, who attended the CP clinic at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital (CHBAH), South Africa, from October 2017 to January 2018, was conducted.
A convenience sample, of the first ten caregivers per Tuesday CP clinic were chosen and were given two questionnaires to complete (a demographic and the Parent Stress Index (PSI) forms), facilitated by a trained research assistant. The researcher, herself, classified the CP child’s motor function disability using the gross motor function classification system (GMFCS) and their communication function disability using the functional communication classification system (FCCS).
Results: Eighty caregivers participated in the study with the median age of 36(31-44) years. The marital status and employment status of the caregivers and their partners significantly affected their stress levels. Married caregivers had less stress levels (PSI score=102 (87-109)) compared to single caregivers with high levels of stress (PSI score=111.5 (101-121)) (p<0.01). The stress levels were higher when the primary caregiver alone was employed compared to when both
primary caregiver and partner were either unemployed (p=0.02) or employed (p=0.01). Caregiver’s stress levels were not affected by the severity of the levels of GMFCS or FCCS of the CP child.
Conclusion: This study on parental stress in parents or primary caregivers of children with cerebral palsy has concluded that the severity of cerebral palsy (assessed by GMFCS and FCCS) does not affect the level of parental stress in their parents or primary caregiver. The parental stress levels are greater in a single parent and if the primary caregiver alone is employed as opposed to both parents being employed or unemployed. Financial and family support is potential factors that are important to address to improve the parental stress levels in parents or primary caregivers of CP children.
Description
A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfillment of the degree of Master of Science in Medicine in Child Development.
Johannesburg, 2018