Calidad de vida de los cuidadores de niños y adolescentes con parálisis cerebral

Abstract

Caregivers looking after children or teenagers suffering of cerebral palsy might be affected by anxiety or stress, which detriments their quality of life (Zuurmond et al., 2018). Therefore, the general objective of this work was to describe the quality of life of caregivers working with children and teenagers suffering of cerebral palsy. Identity caregiver’s most affected quality of life domain, and to determine caregiver’s quality of life based on their socio-demographic characteristics. This research had a quantitative descriptive non-experimental design. Participants included were 54 primary caregivers of children and teenagers suffering of cerebral palsy within the Institute of Cerebral Palsy of Azuay (IPCA). The research instruments used were: a socio-demographic assessment form and the Whoqol-Bref (1996) quality of life assessment. Data were collected during scheduled visits to the IPCA facilities. The results of our study show that the overall quality of life among caregivers was within normal ranges. Nevertheless, the environmental domain was the most affected. Quality of life was not affected by the number of caregiver’s own children.