The relationship of spiritual orientation and caregiver burden of caregiver mothers with a child with cerebral palsy in Turkey

Effects of Spiritual Well-Being on Caregiver Burden of Parents of Children with Tracheostomy in Türkiye: The Mediating Role of Psychological Resilience

This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of psychological resilience in examining the effects of spiritual well-being on the caregiver burden of parents of children with tracheostomy. This descriptive, cross-sectional, and correlational study was conducted with 109 parents of children with tracheostomy. The three-factor spiritual well-being scale, the caregiver burden scale for family caregivers, and the brief resilience scale were used for data collection. The study adhered to the strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology guidelines. Descriptive statistics, t tests, variance analysis, and relationship analysis were used in the data analysis. A significant, negative, and moderate relationship exists between the caregiver burden and the brief resilience scale (p < 0.05). There is a negative relationship between the anomie sub-dimension of the spiritual well-being scale and caregiver burden, and a positive and moderate relationship with resilience (p < 0.05). Psychological resilience affects caregiver burden via the anomie subscale. Programs can be developed to alleviate the caregiving burden and enhance the spiritual well-being of parents with children who have tracheostomies, taking into account the importance of psychological resilience.

Parent-adolescent family resilience and psychological adjustment in chronically ill adolescents: An actor-partner interdependence mediation model

AIMS

This study explored the relationships between family resilience, dyadic coping and psychological adjustment among adolescents with chronic illnesses and their parents. The actor-partner interdependence mediation model was used to validate the mediating role of dyadic coping in the relationship between family resilience and psychological adjustment.

DESIGN

This is a cross-sectional study.

METHODS

A total of 318 parent-adolescents dyads were recruited from three paediatric hospitals in Wenzhou, Hangzhou, Shanghai city, China, between June 2022 and August 2023. The parents had a mean age of 41.62 years, and the adolescents had a mean age of 12.66 years. Participants independently completed a self-report questionnaire assessed family resilience, dyadic coping and psychological adjustment. Data analysis was conducted using the actor-partner interdependence mediation model.

RESULTS

The findings suggest that in the actor effects, family resilience directly influenced psychological adjustment, and family resilience is related to psychological adjustment through positive dyadic coping. In the partner effect, parents' family resilience influenced adolescents' psychological adjustment through the parents' positive dyadic coping. Similarly, adolescents' family resilience influenced parents' psychological adjustment through both parents' positive dyadic coping and adolescents' negative dyadic coping. Additionally, there was a partner effect between parents' family resilience and adolescents' psychological adjustment.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrated the importance of developing effective dyadic interventions based on family resilience or positive dyadic coping strategies to improve the mental health of adolescents with chronic illnesses and their parents.

IMPACT

The mediating role of dyadic coping in the relationship between family resilience and psychological adjustment among adolescents with chronic illnesses and their parents was demonstrated. Future psychosocial interventions should focus on increasing parents' positive dyadic coping strategies and improving adolescents' negative dyadic coping strategies.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

No patient or public contribution.

Families' Strategies for Navigating Care for Their Child With Cerebral Palsy: A Qualitative Study

INTRODUCTION

Families of children with medical complexities, like cerebral palsy (CP), often interact with multiple service providers across healthcare, education, social services, and family support sectors. To navigate these services, families shoulder various responsibilities, such as managing appointments, understanding different service systems, and advocating for their child's needs. However, our understanding of how families navigate these services remains limited. Therefore, this study explores families' strategies for navigating services for their child with cerebral palsy.

METHODS

Data were gathered through interviews with six families who each have a child diagnosed with CP aged between 8 and 12 years old. These interviews involved both children and parents and were conducted in three consecutive semi-structured sessions with each family. Additionally, observations were conducted during multidisciplinary coordination meetings held at the children's schools, involving parents and service providers.

RESULTS

To navigate services, parents applied strategies to (1) become experts on both their child's diagnosis, challenges, care needs and on the services available; (2) act as proactive participants in their child's care; and (3) manage day-to-day care. In doing so, families contributed to the provision of family-centred services according to their care needs.

CONCLUSION

Families make use of several different strategies to navigate the services. By applying these strategies, they effectively express their care needs and facilitate tailored services, thus contributing towards a family-centred approach. This highlights the importance of supporting the strategies used by families when collaborating with the services.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

Families actively participated in shaping the study by engaging in a series of interviews, discussing topics important to them, and reviewing the information provided. This approach ensures that their experiences and needs are accurately captured and addressed. Additionally, families shared their thoughts on how services could be improved to better meet their care needs.

Challenges of Polish families related to caring for a disabled child at home: a cross-sectional study

A family with a disabled child has major changes and challenges. The difficulties experienced by the whole family are of various natures and relate to emotional, psychological, caring, and financial problems. The aim of the study is to learn about the challenges and involvement of Polish families in caring for a disabled child in the home environment. A cross-sectional pilot study was conducted in a group of 103 parents of disabled children. The proprietary questionnaire and a standardized scale for the Generalized Self-Efficacy Survey (GSES) were used as a research tool. The material for the study was collected online, using Google Forms software, and statistically processed. Emotional contact with a disabled child turned out to be the most difficult aspect of care for almost half of the respondents (42.7%). The vast majority of respondents (75.7%) described the level of difficulty in caring for a disabled child as much higher than the level of difficulty in caring for a healthy child. Most parents (87%) spend between 10 and 20% of their family income on the treatment and rehabilitation of disabled children. A significant relationship was noted between the assessment of the family's economic situation and place of residence (χ2P = 27.32; p < 0.0001; Vc 0.51). Parents of children with disabilities who live in rural areas and have less education are less well off financially. The average GSES score was 24.54 and was in 4 sten. The biggest care challenge for parents of disabled children turned out to be emotional contact with the child. The GSES index for parents of children with disabilities is lower than the average values obtained in Polish studies, which translates into worse coping with problems.

Positive and negative experiences of caregivers helping power wheelchair users: a mixed-method study

PURPOSE

This study aimed to better understand how the powered wheelchair (PWC) impacts the experiences of family caregivers of PWC users, and explore the strategies and resources used by caregivers to cope with their role.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This mixed-methods study was part of a larger cross-sectional research study conducted in four Canadian cities. Twenty-three family caregivers of PWC users, who provided at least 2 h of support per week, completed the Power Mobility Caregiver Assistive Technology Outcome (PM-CATOM), an 18-item measure assessing PWC-related and overall burden experienced by family caregivers. We also conducted semi-structured interviews and analysed them using inductive content analysis.

RESULTS

From the quantitative PM-CATOM results, the caregivers perceived low level of burden for the wheelchair-related items, (Median:4.5; Range 3 to 5). Most perceived burden when physically helping the wheelchair user and when providing verbal hints. In terms of overall help, the caregivers experienced some level of burden (Median 3.5: Range 3 to 5). Most caregivers identified burden associated with the limitation to their recreational and/or leisure activities (52.2%) and feeling that they have more to do than they can handle. We identified 3 themes in the interviews: the burden experiences of caring for PWC users, the positive experiences of caregiving, and the coping strategies and resources used by caregivers of PWC users.

CONCLUSION

Our study showed that understanding the experiences of caregivers of AT users is central as they are directly and indirectly impacted by the PWC in their lives and caregiving roles.

The Relationship Between Care Burden and Spiritual Well-Being of Mothers of Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Cross-Sectional Study from Türkiye

This study was conducted to determine the relationship between care burden and spiritual well-being of mothers of children with cerebral palsy and the topics of support that mothers need. This study, which was conducted as a relationship seeker, was completed in approximately 7 months. Data were collected through interviews with 270 mothers of children with cerebral palsy. A questionnaire, Spiritual Well-Being Scale and Burden Interview Scale was used to collect data. It was found that mothers needed a lot of support, such as requesting an increase in physical therapy hours and the need for financial support. There was a moderate negative relationship between SWBS and BIS (r =  - 0.39, p = 0.01). According to the results of this study, we can say that spiritual well-being is related to the care burden of mothers, so nurses caring for these children should understand the burden of the mothers of these children and evaluate spiritual well-being.