https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1097-7056
![Sample our Health and Social Care journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5938/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Health-Social-Care.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
Mothers caring for a child with cerebral palsy suffer from many physical and psychosocial problems. Their quality of life is significantly lower than mothers with healthy children. The first step in improving these women’s quality of life is to improve the understanding of their experiences and coping mechanisms in specific cultural contexts. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the experiences and coping mechanisms of mothers caring for a child with cerebral palsy through a qualitative study conducted in Turkey. The study took place in 2021. Ten mothers were selected to participate through purposeful sampling. Inclusion criteria were mothers who had cared for a child with cerebral palsy for over three years, had no chronic diseases, could speak Turkish fluently, and wanted to participate in the study. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data. Two main themes and three categories emerged from the data analysis. The themes were “dedication” and “seeking.” The analysis showed that mothers were dedicated as they engaged in all aspects of care. Their coping mechanisms involved self-focused and problem-focused seeking. These mothers must be acknowledged and supported while considering cultural and religious beliefs.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank mothers that participated in this study.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Contributions
RSS, SK, EG and AC participated in Conceptualization. RSS, SK, EG and AC participated in Resources and Data curation. RSS, SK, participated in Software Formal Analysis. RSS, and AC participated in Supervision. RSS, SK, EG and AC participated in Validation. RSS, SK, EG and AC participated in original draft Project. RSS, SK, and EG participated in administration Writing – review & editing.