Family empowerment and associated factors in Japanese families raising a child with severe motor and intellectual disabilities.
Rie Wakimizu, Hiroshi Fujioka, Kaori Nishigaki and 1 others
PMID 31406850WHAT IT FOUND
Caregivers of children with severe motor and intellectual disabilities had higher family empowerment when they recognised local support, used home visits and childcare institutions, had higher income and education, and strong family bonding; burden was linked to lower empowerment.
Key findings
01In 1362 analysed caregivers, higher family empowerment was linked to recognition of regional support, lower childcare burden, more childcare institution use, higher household income, older caregiver age, stronger family cohesion, more home visit service use and higher education.
02Mean family empowerment was 101.5 ± 17.4 on a 34 to 170 point scale, and mean childcare burden was 8.9 ± 6.5 on a 0 to 32 point scale.
03The adjusted R 2 was 0.167, so the measured factors did not fully explain family empowerment.
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What it does not show
The valid response rate was 34.6%, so caregivers who did not respond may differ from those who did. The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that any factor caused higher or lower empowerment. The regression model's adjusted R 2 was 0.167, so many influences on empowerment were not measured. SMID is a Japanese administrative child-welfare category, not a medical diagnosis, so the sample and findings may not translate to other health systems. Child severity was reported by caregivers using a simplified checklist rather than by medical professionals. The questionnaire had many items and took a long time, which may have discouraged participation. Results are from Japanese families and may not apply to other countries.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest. The supplied text does not state a funding source.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that increasing home visits, institutional use or income will raise family empowerment. This was a cross-sectional survey of associations, not a test of an intervention, and the model's adjusted R 2 was 0.167.