30Mar 2017

PSYCHOSOCIAL BURDEN ON PRIMARY CAREGIVERS OF CHILDREN WITH DOWN SYNDROME

  • Junior resident, Dept. of Paediatrics, Govt. Medical College, Thrissur Kerala.
  • Additional Professor, Dept.of Paediatrics Govt. Medical College Thrissur Kerala.
  • Professor & HOD, Dept.of Paediatrics, Govt. Medical College, Thrissur Kerala.
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Down syndrome is the commonest chromosomal disorder causing mild to moderate intellectual disability. A child with disability is a serious stress factor for parents. In India persons with intellectual disability have traditionally been cared for by their families Multifaceted factors have made parenting vulnerable to stress. Indian studies are lacking on care arrangements of children with Down syndrome and their caregiver’s psychological issues. A cross sectional study was conducted to assess care arrangements of children with Down syndrome and caregiver burden and depression . 70 caregivers of children less than 18 years attending the Down syndrome clinic at Government Medical College Hospital, Thrissur from January 2013 to July 2014 were enrolled in the study Subjects were interviewed by questionnaire method using internationally accepted measuring tools like client service receipt inventory, burden interview, caregiver activity survey and general health questionnaire. Mothers were the primary givers in 69(99%) of cases. 29(40%) caregivers experienced moderate to severe burden. Depression was detected in 44(63%).There was a significant positive correlation between caregiver burden and level of depression( correlation coefficient 0.62,p value 0.001).Severe burden was reported in caregivers having children with hypothyroidism(p value-0.026) and hearing impairment(p value-0.001).Depression was more prevalent in older mothers( p value-0.05) but less in mothers who were better educated(p value-0.005) and those who were employed(p value-0.03).

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[Sangeetha. P. S, Parvathi R and K. K. Purushothaman. (2017); PSYCHOSOCIAL BURDEN ON PRIMARY CAREGIVERS OF CHILDREN WITH DOWN SYNDROME Int. J. of Adv. Res. 5 (Mar). 1748-1753] (ISSN 2320-5407). www.journalijar.com

Dr. Sangeetha P. S.
Dept.of Paediatrics, Govt.Medical College, Thrissur KERALA

DOI:

Article DOI: 10.21474/IJAR01/3687      
DOI URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.21474/IJAR01/3687

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