Impact of caregiver burden on health-related quality of life and family functioning of carers of children with epilepsy at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, South Africa
S. Afr. j. child health (Online)
;
14(2): 66-70, 2020.
Article
in English
| AIM
| ID: biblio-1270382
ABSTRACT
Background. The impact of caring for a child with a chronic disease on caregivers and their family functioning contributes to the child's adaptation to the disease.Objectives. To determine the impact of caregiver burden on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and family functioning of carers of children with epilepsy (CWE), and to determine factors associated with a high impact of caregiver burden.Method. A cross-sectional study was conducted among primary caregivers of CWE attending the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, South Africa. Participants had been involved in childcare for at least 6 months before study enrolment and all gave informed consent. Data regarding sociodemographic and epilepsy-related variables were obtained from questionnaires, including the 36-item family impact module of the Pediatric Quality of Life assessment tool. Scores in the lower quartile were considered indicative of a negative impact on HRQOL and poor family functioning.Results. Participants identified as experiencing a high impact of paediatric epilepsy care reported raw scores â¤31.3 for both caregiver burden and family functioning. The family functioning score correlated strongly with the caregivers' HRQOL score (p=0.78; p<0.001). Multivariate analysis identified a low level of education among caregivers and a high seizure frequency in patients as independent predictors of caregiver burden associated with a negative impact.Conclusion. Our findings suggest that the burden of caregiving in paediatric epilepsy among our study population impacts negatively on family functioning. The burden of care was associated with a low level of caregiver education and a high seizure frequency in their children
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Index:
AIM (Africa)
Main subject:
Quality of Life
/
South Africa
/
Family Health
/
Caregivers
/
Epilepsy
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
/
Risk factors
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
Language:
English
Journal:
S. Afr. j. child health (Online)
Year:
2020
Type:
Article
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