Investigation of the Effect of Caregiving Burden of Parents with Children with Chronic Diseases on Family Functions and Influencing Factors

Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the effects of caregiving burden of parents with children with chronic disease on family functions and the factors affecting them. Materials and Methods: The analytical-cross-sectional study was conducted with the parents of the patients who were followed up for chronic diseases at Manisa Celal Bayar University Hafsa Sultan Hospital, Child Health and Diseases Units (clinic and polyclinic) (n=216). Data were collected with the Description Form, Zarit Care Burden Scale and Family Assessment Scale. In the analysis of the data were used descriptive analyses, Kolmogorov Smirnov normality test, Mann Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis test and Spearman correlation analysis. Results: In general, the caregiving burden of parents with children with chronic diseases included in the study was found to be moderate to severe. It has been determined that there is a significant difference according to the age of the parents, educational status, number of children, employment status, profession, financial situation, family structure, FAD and sub-dimension mean (p<0,05). It was determined that there was no significant difference between the age of the children and the emotional responsiveness sub-dimension, the age at which they were diagnosed with a chronic disease, the duration of care given to the family rating scale and its sub-dimensions, and there was no significant difference between the average scores of the family rating scale and its sub-dimensions, gender and educational status (p<0,05). Conclusion: It has been determined that the high caregiving burden of parents with children with chronic diseases affects family functions negatively. Keywords: Children with Chronic İllnesses, Caregiving Burden, Parents