Quality of Life among Caregivers of Children with Language Impairment at the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics Faculty of Medicine Vajira Hospital: a Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study
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Abstract
Objective: To explore the quality of life (QoL) and to investigate factors associated with QoL among caregivers of children with language impairment.
Methods: This study design was a cross-sectional descriptive study. The participants in this study were the caregivers of children with language impairment aged 2-7 years attending the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine Vajira Hospital between November 2019 and October 2020 by using a questionnaire for the general data and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief – Thai (WHOQOL-BREF-THAI). Data were analyzed using the descriptive and inferential statistics.
Results: Most of the caregivers were female (84%) with mean age of 38.06±10.67 years old. Most of them were mother (65%), being housewives/husbands (33%), and having monthly income ≤15,000 (40%). The overall QoL, physical, and psychological aspects among caregivers of children with LI were at high levels, accounting for 51%, 51% and 54% of the sample respectively. While the QoL in the social relationships and environment aspects were at moderate levels, at 51% and 68% respectively. Factors associated with QoL were the gender of caregivers and self-help skills in daily activities of children.
Conclusion: Children with LI may affect their caregivers’ QoL, especially in the social relationships and environment aspects. These findings provide new insights into QoL of caregivers of children with LI that may be important when professionals consider comprehensive intervention and more specific support to improve their situation. It is expected that if caregivers’ QoL improves, they would provide greater parental care, which will further improve their children’s well-being.
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