Family empowerment and quality of life of parents raising children with Developmental Disabilities in 78 Japanese families.
Rie Wakimizu, Keiko Yamaguchi, Hiroshi Fujioka
PMID 31406716WHAT IT FOUND
Parents raising children with developmental disabilities in Japan reported low family empowerment, low quality of life, high caregiver burden, and limited emotional support.
Family problem solving and support networks were linked to better outcomes.
Key findings
01Mean family empowerment was 89.23 on a 34 to 170 scale, and mean parent quality of life was 3.22 on a 1.0 to 5.0 scale.
02Family empowerment and parent quality of life were positively correlated (r = 0.496).
03Higher family empowerment was associated with not taking medication, assistance in child rearing, assistance from a developmental support center, solving problems related to child rearing, and successful problem solving function.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Participants were recruited by convenience sampling from services in two prefectures, so the results may not represent parents elsewhere in Japan. The study was cross-sectional, so it shows associations at one time point and cannot prove that any factor improves family empowerment or quality of life. Only parents were recruited, so the study cannot describe the experiences of siblings or other household members. Fathers were few, with 15 respondents, so father-specific findings are limited. Some outcomes could not be compared with previous studies because the scales were not used consistently in the literature. The authors noted a contradiction in the developmental support center finding, with high family empowerment and low quality of life linked to the same service.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these associations as proof that medication, support services, or family problem solving improve family empowerment or quality of life. This was a cross-sectional survey of parents, not a trial of care, and it cannot show cause.