Health challenges of mothers with special needs children in Pakistan and the importance of integrating health social workers

ABSTRACT

There is concern that mothers of special needs children in developing countries like Pakistan are neglected populations facing hidden health challenges. The aim of this study was to investigate the kinds of health challenges mothers experience and to highlight the role of health social workers in supporting the needs of mothers. Twenty-one mothers were sampled across three cities and findings were analyzed through a thematic content analysis approach. Findings revealed that mothers faced significant and salient challenges under eight sub-categories of mental health and six sub-categories of physical health. We recommend that health social workers collaborate with healthcare practitioners to improve health services for mothers and also coordinate with other social workers, community members, and policymakers for improving both social and structural support for special needs families.

KEYWORDS:

• Health social work
• mental health
• mother
• physical health
• special needs children

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the generous participants who took time to talk about sensitive issues related to their own and their children’s lives. We are grateful to Mrs Rabia Aziz Rizvi for her assistance in questionnaire development. We also thank the administrators of Special Children’s Institutes for their help in recruiting participants for the study and the research assistants Ahsan Shahab and Isbah Khalid for the project.

Research interests

Women’s Social Development through Microfinance; Women’s Health, Gender-based Workplace Violence; Special Needs Children and their Families; and Informal Congregational Social Welfare

List of publications

1. Book – Women, Healthcare and Violence Recognizing the Risks faced by Female Healthcare Providers in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 2018 Oxford University Press.

Links for online order and reviews

https://oup.com.pk/academic-generalbooks/sociology-gender-studies/women-healthcare-and-violence-in-pakistan.html

2. Jafree, S. R., Zakar, R., Mustafa, M., & Fischer, F. (2018). Mothers employed in paid work and their predictors for home delivery in Pakistan. Springer, BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 18(1), 316; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30075757

3. Jafree, S. R., Zakar, R., Zakar, M. Z., & Fischer, F. (2017). Assessing the patient safety culture and ward error reporting in public sector hospitals of Pakistan. Springer, Safety in Health, 3(1), 10; https://safetyinhealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40886-017-0061-x

4. Jafree, S. R. (2017). Workplace violence against women nurses working in two public sector hospitals of Lahore, Pakistan. Elsevier, Nursing Outlook, 65(4), 420-427; http://www.nursingoutlook.org/article/S0029-6554(17)30044-1/pdf

5. Rizvi Jafree, S., (2016). Microfinance loan services, community and wellbeing- A case of women borrowers from Pakistan. The Microfinance Review, 8(1), 8-89; https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306358488_Microfinance_Loan_Services_Community_and_Well-being-_A_Case_of_Women_Borrowers_from_Pakistan

6. Jafree, S. R., Zakar, R., Zakar, M. Z., & Fischer, F. (2016). Nurse perceptions of organizational culture and its association with the culture of error reporting: a case of public sector hospitals in Pakistan. Springer, BMC Health Services Research, 16(1), 3; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4700678/

7. Jafree, S. R., Zakar, R., & Zakar, M. Z. (2015). Factors Associated with Low Birth Weight of Children Among Employed Mothers in Pakistan. Springer, Maternal and Child Health Journal, 19(9), 1993-2002; https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10995-015-1708-z

8. Jafree, S. R., Zakar, R., Fischer, F., & Zakar, M. Z. (2015). Ethical violations in the clinical setting: the hidden curriculum learning experience of Pakistani nurses. Springer, BMC Medical Ethics, 16(1), 16; https://bmcmedethics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12910-015-0011-2

9. Rizvi Jafree, S., Zakar, R., & Zakar, M. Z. (2015). Gender segregation as a benefit–a qualitative study from Pakistan. Wiley, Journal of Nursing Management, 23(8), 983-993; http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jonm.12244/abstract?systemMessage=Wiley+Online+Library+%27Journal+Subscribe+%2F+Renew%27+page+will+be+down+on+Wednesday+05th+July+starting+at+08.00+EDT+%2F+13.00+BST+%2F+17.30+IST+for+up+to+75+minutes+due+to+essential+maintenance

10. Jafree, S. R., & Ahmad, K. (2013). Women microfinance users and their association with improvement in quality of life: Evidence from Pakistan. Asian Women, 29(4), 73-105; http://www.dbpia.co.kr/Journal/ArticleDetail/NODE02327262

11. Jafree, S. R., & Ahmad, K. (2013). Women borrowers of microfinance: an urban Lahore study. Journal of Third World Studies, 30(2), 151; https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-352230761/women-borrowers-of-microfinance-an-urban-lahore-study

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on publisher’s website.