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ABSTRACT
A child's disability affects not only that child but also their caregivers. This study compares the quality of life (QoL) of Saudi mothers (primary caregivers) of children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) and Down Syndrome (DS) and mothers whose children do not have a disability, and explores its relationship with socioeconomic status. Two hundred mothers of children with disabilities and 99 mothers of children without disabilities were recruited from rehabilitation centers and regular schools, respectively. Information on their sociodemographic, social support, and QoL information was collected using the Quality of Life Index (QLI) – Generic Version III. The independent-samples t-test and Welch's test for QoL indicate that the mothers of children with disabilities have less satisfaction (QLI Part 1) in the social and economic subscale compared to the mothers of children without disabilities (p = 0.0068) but no differences were found in the other domains. For QLI Part 2 (Importance), the mothers of children with disabilities were found to attribute more importance to health and functioning than mothers of children without disabilities (p = 0.003). The former were also found to attribute less importance to their psychological/spiritual status than the latter (p < 0.01). There was no significant difference in total score or in the family or socioeconomic domains. It is concluded that Saudi mothers of children with disabilities need more social support and professional help to improve their quality of life.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Deanship of Scientific Research at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University for funding this research project, and also to thank all the institutions (schools and rehabilitation centers) that provided us the opportunity to conduct the survey and all the mothers who participated. We would also like to thank Editage (www.editage.com) for English language editing.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Ethical considerations
The study was approved by the Deanship of Scientific Research Council and the Research Ethics Committee of the Health and Rehabilitation Sciences College at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, in Riyadh, by the Saudi Ministry of Labour and Social Development (required as data were collected from the Comprehensive Rehabilitation Centers and daycare center), and by the Saudi Ministry of Education.
Geolocation
Saudi Arabia
Notes on contributors
Reem Mohammed Alwhaibi Associate professor of pediatric physical therapy. Dean of prepartaory year and supervisor of foundation year of health colleges. Got a Bachelor's degree in Physical Therapy from King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Master's degree in Rehabilitation from Pittsburgh University, and PhD in Pediatric physical therapy from Newcastle-upon-tyne in 2019. Professor Reem has held many administrative and academic positions, translated 3 books, co-author 1 book and has 10 published articles.
Dr. Uzma Zaidi, PhD in Clinical Psychology. Currently working as Associate Professor/Program Director of Clinical Psychology at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University. Having experience of 12 years teaching and 11 years of Clinical Practice. Author of more than 20 research articles related to Clinical Psychology, Health Psychology, Personality Psychology, Neuropsychology, Educational Psychology and Organizational Behavior
Ibtisam Abdullah Alzeiby is an assistant professor in Psychology Department, College of Education, Princess Norah bint Abdulrahman, Riyadh, KSA. She has obtained her Bachelor's degree in Chemistry from College of Education, Madinah, KSA (1999). Also, she has obtained her Master's degree in Health Psychology (2004) and PhD in Psychology, from the Department of Psychology, PNU, Riyadh, KSA (2010). Previous Chairman of Psychology department at PNU, previous Director of Psychology program at PNU as well.
Adel Abdullah Alhusaini is an assistant professor in Rehabilitation Department, College of Applied Medical Sciences at King Saud University, Riyadh, KSA. He has obtained his master's degree in in Physiotherapy from Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK (2005). Also, he has obtained PhD in Pediatric Neurorehabilitation from School of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia (2010). He has published More than 20 peer-reviewed publications and one book published. He is also the chairman of Pediatric Neurorehabilitation Research group at KSU. Presently working on the KACST project regarding sedentary behavior characteristics and physical activity levels in children of Saudi Arabia