Comparison of Quality of Life of Caregivers of Children with and without Disabilities

Introduction: Taking care of a child with disability not only affects the health of the caregiver but also has a detrimental effect on their quality of life. Presently heath providers are focussing on the child with disability, their caregivers are ignored to a large extent. Aim: To compare the quality of life of the caregivers of children with or without disabilities. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in the outpatient department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Lady Hardinge Medical College and associated Kalawati Saran Children’s Hospital, New Delhi from November 2011 to October 2012 with prior approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee. After obtaining informed consent, a total of 400 participants (200 each in case and control group) who satisfied the inclusion criteria were included in the study. A pre-structured proforma containing the demographic details of the family and WHOQoL-BREF questionnaire to assess quality of life of caregivers was filled. Statistical analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0. Results: In the present study it was observed that quality of life of caregivers of children with disabilities had statistically significant lower scores in all domains using WHOQoL-BREF scale as compared to control group. Conclusion: Protocols should be framed in departments managing children with disabilities to address the health issues of the caregivers. Help in the form of regular counselling, peer group interaction within the hospital and respective local communities, support including respite care services are few things that can be incorporated in order to improve their quality of life.