Abstract
Quality of life (QOL) is a key aspect of the health care process for children with chronic diseases and their families. Although clinical evidence regarding the impact of chronic disease on children exists, few studies have evaluated the effects of the interaction between sociodemographic and psychosocial factors on the family caregiver’s QOL, indicating a significant gap in the research literature. The present study aimed to identify the predictors of the QOL of parents of children with chronic diseases. Three parental sociodemographic predictors (age, schooling, and family income) and four psychosocial predictors (family functioning, social support, depression, and resilience) were examined. In this cross-sectional study, 416 parents of children with chronic diseases who were hospitalized at a National Institute of Health in Mexico City were interviewed. The participants completed a sociodemographic variables questionnaire (Q-SV) designed for research on family caregivers of children with chronic disease. The predicted variable was assessed through the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire. The four psychosocial predictors were assessed through the Family Functioning Scale, Social Support Networks Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, and Measurement Scale of Resilience. The regression model explained 42% of the variance in parents’ QOL. The predictors with positive weights included age, schooling, monthly family income, family functioning, social support networks, and parental resilience. The predictors with negative weights included depression. These findings suggest that strong social relationships, a positive family environment, family cohesion, personal resilience, low levels of depression, and a family income twice the minimum wage are variables associated with better parental QOL.
Highlights
In 2008, a consensus definition of pediatric chronic disease was achieved
The selected sociodemographic and psychosocial variables explained more than two-fifths of the variance in Quality of life (QOL)
Since the multicollinearity between the variables was low and there was no inflation of the variance as a result of multicollinearity, it can be said that these variables had a large effect size
Summary
In 2008, a consensus definition of pediatric chronic disease was achieved. It consists of four criteria:a disease or condition in childhood is classified as chronic if the person is 0 to 18 years old; the diagnosis is based on a valid and reliable professional standard, such as the International Classification of Diseases of the World Health Organization; the disease is not curable at the present time or is very resistant to treatment, e.g., cancer, nephrotic syndrome or asthma; and the disease is active, has been present for at least three months, and is expected to persist and/or recur intermittently [1]. In 2008, a consensus definition of pediatric chronic disease was achieved. Diabetes mellitus ranks first among chronic diseases in Mexico. Ischemic heart disease is in second place, and malignant tumors are third. These three diseases account for almost half of all cases of chronic diseases in Mexican adults [2]. Cancer ranks first among the chronic diseases that cause mortality in Mexican children and adolescents. Asthma and obesity are the most common chronic diseases. Ischemic heart disease is not present in this population, but abnormal blood flow due to a congenital heart defect is [2,3]
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