Current Pediatric Research

Aim: This study was conducted to evaluate depression levels, quality of life and care burden of parents with disabled children. Method: This descriptive study was conducted with 198 parents in special education and rehabilitation centers of two provinces of Turkey. The data were collected using a parental identification form, the Beck Depression Inventory, the WHOQOL-BREF quality of life questionnaire, and the Zarit caregiver burden scale. Appropriate statistical analyses were done to evaluate the data. Findings: Parents with disabled children had a mild depression and their mean scale score was 15.19 ± 9.35. Their scores were; 53.54 ± 19.39 from the general health status, 50.58 ± 12.49 from the physical health, 61.30 ± 16.99 from the psychological, 54.80 ± 22.31 from the social relations, and 58.03 ± 16.64 from the environment subscales of the quality of life scale. Their mean score from the Zarit scale was 46.30 ± 14.34. A negative correlation was found between the parents’ scores from the beck depression inventory and the quality of life scale, and a positive and statistically significant difference was found between the beck depression inventory and Zarit scale. Results: Nurses, by using a family-centered approach, should develop care protocols, guidelines and institutional policies to support parental health in the care of disabled children and put these into practice.

Author(s): Gulay Manav, Busra Maraslı, Pelin Uymaz*

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