Mental and Physical Health in Caregivers of Children with Developmental Disabilities

Research Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine mental and physical health variables in caregivers of children with developmental disabilities (DD) such as cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, autism, myelomeningocele, etc., and compare these to non-caregivers. Providing regular care or assistance to children with chronic disabilities can result in negative health outcomes for the caregiver. This has the potential to negatively impact the child being cared for, including rehabilitation outcomes.

Design: Retrospective survey from a national cohort of regular caregivers of children with DD

Setting: Data set from the 2021 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) health-related telephone survey, gathering geographically proportional data across the United States

Participants: 1520 primary caregivers of children with developmental disabilities

Interventions: Survey response indicating self-reported poor mental and physical health on 14 or more days per month

Main Outcome Measures: Survey questions: “During the past 4 weeks, have you had 14 or more days of poor physical health” and “During the past 4 weeks, have you had 14 or more days of poor mental health?”

Results: Caregivers were predominately female (74.2%). Race/ethnicity of caregivers was 23.2% white, 23.1% African American, 24.0% Asian, and 17.6% Hispanic. The percentage of caregivers of children with DD that reported poor mental health (14 or more days per month) was significantly greater (20.6%) than non-caregivers (11.7%), p < 0.001, Odds Ratio 2.0 (1.7 - 2.2 95% CI). The percentage of caregivers of children with DD that reported poor physical health (14 or more days per month) was also significantly greater (13.8%) than non-caregivers (12.1%), p = 0.04 , Odds Ratio 1.2 (1.0-1.4% 95%CI).

Conclusions: Caregivers of children with developmental disabilities have significantly more days of poor mental and poor physical health compared to non-caregivers. This data prompts a discussion on the need for increased awareness and resource development for rehabilitation practitioners regarding support of caregivers to maximize the patient outcomes. Additional research is recommended to determine best practices in this area.

Author(s) Disclosures: None