Examining the factors that affect the quality of life in parents who have chronically disabled chi̇ldren

The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that affected the quality of life in parents with chronically disabled children. The study included 48 mothers, 22 fathers with chronically disabled children (as Study Group), 45 mothers and 45 fathers (as Control Group) who did not have children with chronic disabilities. The evaluation tools used in this study as follows; for children, Gross Motor Function Classification System; Functional Independence Criterion, for parents, Nottingham Health Profile, Nordic Musculoskeletal System Questionnaire, Beck Depression Scale, Parental Stress Index, Fatigue Severity Scale, Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index and Visual Pain Scale- Headache Impact Test. It was determined that the depression levels, headache scores, stress and fatigue levels of the mothers in the study group and the percentage of workload of the spouse about the care of the child have had an effect on quality of life (p<0.05). The depression, pain, parental stress, and fatigue levels of the fathers in the study group were found to be had an effect on quality of life (p<0.05). As a result of the present study, it was determined that the quality of life of the parents, especially the mothers with chronically disabled children, were affected by many factors. It was also determined that the mothers in the study group took more workload about the care of their children compared to the fathers and the mothers in the control group. Keywords: Chronic handicap, Family, Stress, Quality of Life, Disabled child